


Entwined Lives

by MelodySitaraOrDani



Category: Bleach
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Siblings, Attempted Sexual Assault, Chad's sister OC, Character Death, Character/OC, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Depression, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy stuff in there somewhere, Found Family, Heart Transplant, Hurt/Comfort, I might have to add more tags later, I've got 50 chapters and no one is in a relationship yet, Ichigo's sister OC, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Injury, Language of Flowers, Lost Love, Manipulation, Medical Procedures, Mentions of Abortion, Momo is stressed, No Smut, OC has heart problems, OC is canon's mother, Original Character(s), Parenthood, Reanimation, Recovery, Secret Crush, Slow Burn, Teen Pregnancy, Toshiro has abandonment issues, Toshiro is stressed, Underage Drinking, bleach/oc, characters mother oc, garbage boss, like really slow burn, mentions of breastfeeding, most of these tags happen to one character, one character is almost sold as a child bride, reanimation of a corpse, that's what I call an abuser in this fanfic, this is darker than I ever intended it to be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:28:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 57
Words: 150,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26806633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodySitaraOrDani/pseuds/MelodySitaraOrDani
Summary: Heads up, the tags may be misleading. If there are any graphic descriptions of any of those tags it's generally under the medical or emotional abuse tags. Otherwise it's mentioned or brought up.Each person has their own tale to tell.Each person has been shaped by this tale.But not everyone gets to tell their own story.Lives are always tangled with others, this makes every life a mess.But these tangles come together to form a beautiful picture that is our life.A Bleach Fanfiction featuring Canon x OC, OC x OC, and Canon x Canon. Fairly slow burn on getting into the relationships though.Some themes in this story may not be suitable for younger readers and this will include; underage drinking, death, manipulation, abuse, and teenage pregnancy to name a few. Many of these things will be brought up later on though.Tags will be added as I continue hopefully.I only own a few OC's involved in this story and I own nothing about Bleach itself. A few of the OC's belong to one of my best friends.
Relationships: Hinamori Momo/Original Character(s), Hitsugaya Toushirou/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Male Character





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there and welcome to Entwined Lives. I do my best to post warnings at the beginning of each chapter but if you think I left some out please let me know. This goes for tags you think this work should have as well. 
> 
> I am cross-posting this from Wattpad because I feel like it's darker themes might not be so out of place here.

_Each person has their own tale to tell._

_Each person has been shaped by this tale._

_But not everyone gets to tell their own story._

In this story, you will learn the tales of many but it will attempt to focus mainly on three specific tales.

The tale of a caring soul still looking for her place in the world. She looks to help herself and others grow, she hopes to heal anything she can.

Her instincts lead her to care for others when they are in need, to take responsibility when it is needed.

The first child born into her family, she feels the need to take charge in order to keep them close. To attempt and keep her family from growing apart as she and her siblings age. In her mind, it is her job to take care of her family, to be the motherly figure that her younger siblings lack.

A passion for gardening and learning about plants takes up the time that her family and schoolwork do not. The passion has existed for as long as she could remember and was encouraged by her parents at an early age. This led to the small garden in the backyard of their home where she continually grows some of her favorite plants.

She has trouble befriending others her age and seems to rely on her siblings to introduce her to new friends. The eldest of her younger siblings was only around a year and a half younger than her, meaning her friends were typically around the same age as her younger brother.

With orange hair and golden-brown eyes, she could almost be mistaken for her younger brother's twin.

At a height of five foot four, she is several inches shorter than her brother, and not nearly as lanky or muscled as him. Her weak heart prevented her from being in many of the same activities as him and she had to take it easy for the most part. Though she often jogged or ran when no one was paying attention.

Hana Kurosaki, the oldest child of the Kurosaki family.

The tale of a lost soul with vague dreams that she never understood. Vague dreams that hint at a past that she doesn't remember. Her heart is always in the right place but she always feels that something is missing.

A child adopted into a protective family that she wouldn't dare trade for another.

Her compassion for others is often hidden by shyness and a small voice. Despite this, light always seems to follow her as she brings happiness to those she meets. That's all she wishes, to bring as much happiness as she can.

That doesn't mean she hasn't brought heartbreak to others before though. She doesn't seem to have any memory of that time.

The aura around her seemed to collect at her eyes and change color with her emotions. This often gives the illusion that her eyes change color. It was lovely to all of her friends but often made her a bit embarrassed.

The differences between her and her brother are obvious. Different skin tones, hair color, eye color, eye shape, and body shapes contrasted sharply when the siblings stood side by side.

At four foot five, she was almost lost among her taller friends.

Her smiles could light up the darkest room and she always left a large impact on those that she met.

She has come to consider Hana almost like a mother or elder sister, their lives being entwined since the day their brothers met.

Angel Yasutora; the younger, adopted, sister of Sado "Chad" Yasutora.

The tale of a mother who is unsure of who she really is. Her life has changed drastically many times leaving her unsure of who is trustworthy.

Her child was born when she was young. A child that she did her best to keep others from knowing about. Keeping them from knowing their identity. The reasons why she did this, she kept to herself, very few people ever knew about it. She had to come to terms with being a mother though she never understood how to really care for a child and never had a true female role model to teach her.

Her abrasive personality and problems with authority figures pushed people away and caused problems in her professional life. It also led to her often being lonely, but she normally felt that it was perfectly acceptable due to her mistrust of others. Very rarely did she trust her superiors which seemed to serve her fairly well in some aspects and not at all in others.

With her past, it's no surprise.

Her red hair seemed to shimmer with orange and yellow and held a gentle wave. While she was once ashamed of it, she later grew to be proud of it. To be more than happy when someone commented on it.

Her bright red eyes were another thing that she used to be ashamed of that she grew to find beautiful. However, she cannot meet her own eyes in the mirror.

Akari Ren, the woman with a fiery temper and a spirit to match.

These lives entwine with many others as they continue to add to their tales and allow us to learn about the previous chapters of their lives. Will you join them as they tell us their tales?

_Lives are always tangled with others, this makes every life a mess._

_But these tangles come together to form a beautiful picture that is our life._


	2. Souls Bound to Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The very first chapter of Bleach with a few OC's included. That's pretty much it.  
> This chapter was first posted on Wattpad in July of 2017. Editing may be bad since the only thing I use for that is Grammarly.

It started as a normal enough day. The two oldest Kurosaki siblings went to school as normal. They attended classes as they normally did and started on their way home as they normally did.

Everything went well that day until the two ran across a reckless group of skateboarders. They had disrupted a small memorial that had been placed on the sidewalk for a young child who had recently died.

In any other circumstance, Hana would have attempted to keep her younger brother's temper in check, but he was already too far gone in his anger for her to stop him. She didn't see a point in trying to.

Instead of getting involved with the fight, she stood a bit behind her brother and watched the events that unfolded, starting with her brother's foot landing in one of the skateboarders' faces.

Her arms crossed over her chest as she watched. If she really felt the need then she would jump in but her brother did this often and she didn't feel like it at the moment. Besides, her brother had proved that he could handle this without her help.

"What the!? You suddenly appear and knock over Yama-Bro, plus you want us to get out of here?!" One of the two who remained standing snapped.

Hana looked at him but hardly changed her expression from being uninterested. These boys were punks and deserved to be knocked down a bit.

"What are you thinking? You wanna die? Huh?!" The other shouted.

Ichigo said nothing and simply rubbed the side of his head with a scowl on his face. He was a very compassionate person, but his compassion came out a lot as anger. Though sometimes it was helpful.

The skateboarders began to get a bit frustrated that the young man in front of them wasn't speaking.

"Say something you...." One grumbled and went to charge at the younger of the two siblings only to get a kick to the face. He fell easily and Hana shook her head a bit. It was increasingly obvious that this group was the kind to talk and act tough, but when it came down to it they were fairly weak.

"Toshi-Bro's down!!" One of the other two shouted.

"D-don't know what's going on but this is dangerous... I've never seen such irrational violence..." The other trailed off.

Hana rose an eyebrow at them. To her, there was no doubt that they were lying and had been the ones to cause the violence.

She wasn't going to deny that she was a bit judgmental at times.

"That guy's definitely one of those... If we fight him we'll be killed for sure!" One of the group said.

They weren't being very clear and they didn't seem to notice the girl standing off to the side.

"Shut up already!!" Ichigo snapped and stomped on the head of the one he'd just kicked in the face.

Hana sighed again. To her, that move seemed a bit excessive, but that just seemed to be her brother's style.

"All you guys look over there!!" The younger Kurosaki pointed in the direction of the small memorial that the group had knocked over.

"Question one!! What the heck could that be!?" He snapped.

Hana simply sighed and stuck a pinky in her ear and twisted it around as if to clean it out. She was trying not to seem like she was paying attention.

She agreed with the point her brother was making but didn't understand why he had to be so loud.

"Ok, you over there, the stinky looking one!!" Ichigo's accusing finger pointed at one of the guys.

The young man pointed at himself as if he was confused and mumbled to himself for a minute before speaking up.

"U-um... An offering to the kid who died recently..." He trailed off.

"Great answer!!" Ichigo snapped and kicked this guy too.

As he did this Hana's eyes caught sight of an unseen figure a bit behind her brother and her disapproving look softened a bit at the figure of a small girl. She took in her almost translucent appearance for a second before her eyes went back to her brother's figure.

This is what he was fighting to protect. Someone who couldn't protect or stand up for themselves.

"Question two!! Why is the vase knocked over?" Ichigo's voice took on a darker tone at the end of his question.

The other boys were still trying to make sure their friend was okay but they looked up to meet the 15-year-old's eyes as they answered him.

"Th-that's cuz' we knocked it over... skateboarding?" The answer came out as a hesitant question.

"I see..." Ichigo muttered.

Hana was still watching quietly, not minding that she hadn't been noticed. That simply meant that she wouldn't have to get involved and she didn't want to have to.

"Then shouldn't you apologize to her?!" Ichigo snapped and directed his thumb to the small girl that Hana had noticed before.

The others suddenly seemed to be able to see the bloodied girl and they took off screaming apologies as they went.

Hana took advantage of the peace and stepped closer to her brother.

"If we scare them this much, they probably won't come around here anymore." He said.

Hana nodded in agreement and both turned to the hovering girl.

"Sorry about using you this way." Ichigo apologized.

"Nah, I'm the one who asked you to chase them away. I have to cooperate this much at least." The girl spoke up.

Ichigo started to walk in the direction of his home but Hana stayed behind.

"I'm sorry that I didn't help much, but I'll be sure to bring you a bunch of new flowers fresh from my garden." She said and smiled warmly at the girl.

"It's alright Miss. Thank you both so much." She said.

Hana's smile turned into a grin.

"Don't thank us, just hurry on to heaven where sweet girls like you belong." She sand before taking off to catch up with her brother.

She caught up to him and quickly grabbed his ear, giving it a nice yank shortly after.

"Ow!! What was that for Hana?!" He snapped.

She frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't you think the beatings were excessive? I'm sure you didn't have to do that just to scare them." She scowled.

He sighed and rubbed his reddening ear.

"Well it worked didn't it?" He asked.

Hana nodded a bit.

"Yes and as usual I'm proud of you for standing up for someone who can't do it for themselves." She smiled and reached up to ruffle his hair.

The younger of the two sighed a bit but went quiet. It was that way for the rest of their way home.

As the two siblings made it home the elder fell back a bit. She never entered the house before her brother and there was a good reason for that.

Ichigo opened the door and announced his arrival only to have a kick aimed at his head by their father.

"You're late!!" He shouted.

Well, at least Hana knew where Ichigo got his loud and outgoing personality from.

As the two men of the family started to have a shouting match with each other, Hand slipped past them and into the kitchen where their younger sisters were sitting at the table.

She kissed the light orange-haired sister's cheek and pat the dark-haired sister on the head before she sat down at the table.

"Hello, girls, did you have a good day?" She asked while ignoring the shouting of her brother and father.

Yuzu, the lighter haired sister with the gentle and sweet personality, smiled and told Hana about how nice her day was. It was rather short but she could understand why. Yuzu didn't seem to like when her brother and father fought and it was hard to keep her attention from telling them to stop when they did this.

Karin, the darker haired sister with the more tomboyish personality, simply muttered out a single word about how her day was and kept eating.

Another minute of shouting later Yuzu frowned and turned to the men who she had tried to ignore until now.

"Oh stop it both of you, the food's getting cold." She tried to get their attention.

Karin looked at Yuzu as if she wasn't bothered and held up her empty bowl.

"Leave 'em alone Yuzu. Another bowl." She said.

Hana reached over and filled Karin's bowl for her while Ichigo complained about his curfew.

"First of all, the rules in this house are too strict!! In what world is there a parent that sets a curfew for a healthy, male high school student at 7 p.m.?!" Ichigo snapped.

"Oh! Ichigo, you already have a new person." Yuzu chimed in, still trying to ignore the yelling and trying to distract the men from it.

She, like her older siblings, could see the spirits that wandered around.

Hana giggled a bit around her chopsticks as she ate.

"This guy! When did he!? I get rid of them again and again but it's always like this dammit!" The teen kept yelling.

Karin turned in her chair to look at him, the fairly bored look she'd held since they got home hardly changing.

"You can see them, touch them, talk to them, plus you're like a special A level spirit medium. Your troubles are four-fold. Must be tough having high specs, Ichi." She said while leaving her chopsticks in her mouth as she spoke.

Hana put hers down and looked at her dark-haired sister.

"Is that how you feel about me too, Karin?" She asked.

Karin shook her head.

"No, you seem to handle it better than him. I guess because you've gotten used to it." She shrugged.

Hana smiled a bit and went back to listening as Yuzu chimed in.

"But you know... I'm a little jealous. I can only see a blur. I wanna see them clearly." She said.

"Not me, since I don't believe in ghosts or whatever," Karin spoke before drinking the brother out of her bowl.

Hana simply smiled and kept eating, staying out of the conversation from then on. She didn't often have a lot to say but was happy for the liveliness of her family.

A small laugh passed her lips as her father started another brawl with his only son.

It was just normal for them.

Once she finished eating, Hana started to pick up the dishes. She'd meant to help Yuzu cook but since they ran late she didn't have the time. The least she could do was wash the dishes.

"Forget it! I'm sleeping!!" Ichigo snapped and headed to his room.

Hana sighed and shook her head at the commotion.

"Brother!!" Yuzu called after him, but it didn't change where he was going.

"Oh well, he's gone. It's your fault Daddy." Karin said.

Their father looked a bit dumbstruck and asked them why.

"Ichigo has been having a hard time recently, Dad." Hana chimed.

"There are more ghosts than before and with his tendency to do nearly anything he can to help them, it's starting to wear on him. I would help if I could, or rather if he made room for me to help." She finished.

Their father looked even more shocked.

"What!!? He talks to you two about things like that!!?" He yelled.

Hana went back to the dishes and rolled her eyes.

"I'll let him cool off then I'll bring him dinner." She said.

Their father continued to complain about Ichigo not telling him things making Karin speak again.

"Of course. Even I wouldn't talk about my problems to a father over 40 who only has such childish communication skills." She said.

Hana sighed yet again and looked at her as their father headed over to a poster of their mother that hung on the wall.

"Karin, that was rude." She scolded.

Their father didn't seem to hear her and proceeded to whine to the poster of their mother.

"Mother... These days it must be adolescence because our daughters are awfully cold to their father... What should I do...?" He whined.

Hana ran a hand through her hair and finished putting away dishes before going to see if Ichigo was hungry or if he needed someone to talk to.

She knocked on his door.

"Hey Ichi, you forgot to eat." She said gently.

Ichigo called for her to come in and once she did she placed his plate down on his desk.

"You okay?" She asked and sat in front of him on the floor.

He sighed. "Why is everyone in our family like that?" He asked.

She smiled.

"Because they're our family. We may do it oddly but we all show that we care about each other." She said.

Ichigo sighed again and nodded just a little.

She didn't know if he said anything else because she was distracted by a bit of movement. Her eyes followed the fluttering movement and she smiled a bit.

"Ichigo look, a butterfly." She said.

As a lover of plants, Hana was also a lover of the insects and such that helped her flowers grow.

Ichigo seemed a bit more confused than his sister though.

"A black swallowtail butterfly? What is this? Where did it come from?" He asked all that once.

Hana looked at him confused.

"Do you mean that your window isn't open?" She asked.

She didn't get her answer before another movement caught both of their attention to a black-haired girl in traditional clothing standing on Ichigo's desk.

The siblings stared at the girl with wide eyes, the girl didn't seem to notice them.

Both stood as the girl jumped down from the desk. She still didn't seem to pay them any mind.

"It is near..." She mumbled.

Naturally, Ichigo was the first to react and his reaction was simply to kick the intruder.

"'It is near...' My ass, idiot!!" He snapped.

Hana rose an eyebrow at the awkward phrasing but didn't say anything about it as she looked over the intruder while Ichigo continued to yell at her.

"You're pretty confident for a burglar!" Ichigo snapped at the confused girl.

Hana had, by that point, noticed the weapon at the intruder's waist. She tried to get her brother's attention but was unable to as he continued his rant.

"By "it is near" do you mean that like the safe is near or something!!?" He continued.

The girl turned to look at them.

"Y-you can see me? I mean to say, did you just kick..." She trailed off.

Hana looked at her confused.

"Yeah, we can see you..." She also trailed off as her brother was suddenly tackled by their father.

"Be quiet Ichigo! Don't make a ruckus on the second floor!!" He yelled.

Ichigo attacked his father back as Hana gave the intruder a somewhat apologetic look.

"You be quiet! How can I not make a ruckus!!?" He shouted back.

"Look at this guy! What the heck is going on with the security system in this house!?" Ichigo continued, only serving to confuse his father.

"What do you mean, look? Look at what?" He asked.

At this point, Hana's eyes widened. If they could see this girl and their father couldn't then did that mean she was a ghost?

Ichigo didn't seem to catch on like his older sister had.

"Huh? I'm talking about this samurai costumed-" The girl cut him off.

"It's useless. It is not possible for ordinary humans to see me. I am a soul reaper." She said.

Hana looked at her, not even noticing when their father left. All knowledge she'd ever come across about soul reapers running through her head at once.

Shortly after their father left the room the girl began explaining what soul reapers were and what they did to Hana and Ichigo. Hana knew a limited amount from reading old books when she was bored but was somewhat happy to be able to hear this now.

"So you're a soul reaper, you come from the Soul Society and you are here to exterminate an evil spirit?" Hana asked calmly.

The girl across the table from her and her brother nodded a bit, looking as if she was pleased that they were understanding her.

Hana had no problem believing her, she liked to believe that there was someone else to protect the spirits. Ichigo was the one who didn't seem to believe her.

He stood up quickly and flipped the round table.

"Yeah right, like I could believe that, idiot!" He snapped.

Hana jumped a bit and looked at him shocked and so did the soul reaper.

"You... You can see ghosts but you do not believe in the existence of soul reapers?!" She yelled.

"Of course not! Unfortunately, I've never seen a soul reaper. I don't believe in things I can't see." Ichigo said, but he wasn't done yet.

"Dad couldn't see you so I'll acknowledge the fact that you're not human. However, quit the soul reaper crap. Got it, you little brat?" He asked and pushed on the girl's head.

Hana pushed his arm away and glared a bit at him.

"Ichigo stop that! You're being rude!" She snapped.

His being impolite often got on her nerves.

"I'm being rude?! This random person just comes into our house and starts spouting crap about soul reapers and I'm the one being rude?!" He glared back at her.

Hana went to snap back at him but the girl cut her off.

"You have spewed nonsense..." She mumbled.

They both turned to look at her as she held her hand out with her fore and middle finger extended in Ichigo's direction.

"First restraint! Obstruction!!" She shouted.

Hana looked at her confused only to have her unspoken question answered by a shocked sound from her brother.

His arms were forced behind him by some invisible force and then he was forced to the floor. He cried out in pain as Hana knelt beside him to see if he was alright.

"Um, may I ask what you did to my brother?" Hana asked the soul reaper.

The soul reaper laughed a bit. "He cannot move! This is called demon form and it's an advanced incantation only soul reapers can use!" She said.

Hana looked at her confused. Most of the soul reaper's attitude was directed at Ichigo but she was still listening.

"Even though I look like this, I have been alive almost 10 times longer than you have. And you dare call me a little brat?" The soul reaper continued.

Hana couldn't help but nod a bit.

"She's got you there Ichigo." She said.

The soul reaper smirked a bit and took hold of the sword that Hana noticed earlier.

"Usually I would kill fellows like you, but spiritual law states that one cannot kill humans they have not been ordered to kill." She said.

Ichigo flinched a bit even though she said she wasn't going to kill him. Granted she was holding a sword and she said she wouldn't kill him, not that she wouldn't hurt him.

Hana stiffened a bit, unsure what the soul reaper was going to do once she drew her sword.

"I will have to be content with sealing your movements. Give thanks you little brat." She mocked and went to thrust her sword at the orange-haired boy.

Both siblings went to cry out to her telling her to wait but instead of the blade cutting into the younger of the two, the hilt gently touched the forehead of the ghost that Yuzu had pointed out earlier.

The glasses-wearing ghost looked shocked and started to tear up as he shook.

"No, I... Don't want to go to hell yet..." The ghost begged.

Hana watched, extremely interested in what was going on and what would happen. Was this a way to help the ghost?

"Do not fear. The place you are headed to is not hell. It is the Soul Society. Unlike hell, it is a peaceful place." The soul reaper reassured him.

Both siblings watched wide-eyed as a portal opened and brought the ghost through.

"What happened to that ghost?" Ichigo asked.

The soul reaper stood and looked at the two.

"I sent him to the soul society. It is called soul burial. In your language, I believe you call it "going to heaven." It is one of a soul reaper's duties." She explained.

Hana stared at her in wonder as she kept talking.

"I guess I shouldn't even ask if you really believe me or not." She said.

Hana cleared her throat.

"Pardon me, but do you think you could explain more?" She asked.

The soul reaper looked at her as if she wasn't expecting that request.

"Very well, I will kindly explain with illustrations so that even the little brat can understand." She said and reached into her uniform.

Hana smiled and ignored her brother's squirming. He seemed fine, just unable to move. If she could learn that soul burial then she could better help the ghosts reach heaven. It would lighten the load on her little brother's shoulders and maybe he could relax.

The soul reaper began her explanation. She was a bit curious about Hana's interest but said nothing about it at the moment.

"Now, in this world, there are two types of spirits." She held up two fingers to represent that number.

Hana watched her intently as she started to draw.

"One is called a plus and is the most common spirit. You can say that the "ghosts" you usually see are these." The soul reaper said showing a drawing of a bunny face surrounded by hearts.

Hana was still smiling a bit, she thought it was cute.

"And the other type is called hollows and these attack living beings and dead beings alike and eat their souls. These are your "evil spirits."" The soul reaper now showed a drawing of a bear face on a black and white background surrounded by what seemed to be lighting.

Hana tried not to giggle, the drawings were cute, and to see the previously serious soul reaper draw them it made her happy.

"Do you have any questions so far?" She asked.

Ichigo looked at her.

"Uhmm, can I start by asking why your drawings abnormally suck?" He asked.

Hana sighed and shook her head.

In the blink of an eye, a handlebar mustache in permanent marker was on Ichigo's lip.

"Ahh!! Dammit!! You were just able to do that because I can't move!!" He shouted.

Hana laughed at him while the soul reaper turned her back and seemed to bounce the marker in her hand.

"That's why you don't make fun of people's drawings Ichigo!" Hana laughed.

"I will continue the explanation, your highness, Mr. Baron." The soul reaper teased.

Hana was still giggling lightly and roughly pat Ichigo's head before turning back to look at the soul reaper and listen to what she had to say.

"We soul reapers have two duties, one is to guide pluses to soul society using soul burial as you have seen." Soul reaper said, showing another drawing of a bunny going to the flowery soul society.

"And the second is to extinguish hollows. My current mission is this." She said now showing a drawing of a bear face with an x over it.

"Wait a minute," Ichigo spoke up, the mustache now very smudged and partially gone as he'd managed to wipe it off on the floor.

"If you came here on your mission, does that mean the thing called hollow is around here?" He asked.

Hana looked at him a bit shocked. She couldn't believe that she didn't catch onto it.

"That would be the case." The soul reaper said still holding the drawings in her hands.

"Are you stupid!? Why are you loitering in a place like this? Hurry up and go get rid of it!" Ichigo shouted.

"Well... you see..." The soul reaper turned her head to the side a bit as if embarrassed.

Hana looked at her.

"I do not know why but I cannot feel its presence anymore..." She trailed off.

The siblings both looked at her.

"What the heck do you mean...?" Ichigo trailed off.

Hana looked down at her brother. She wanted to say something reassuring but couldn't think of what.

A loud noise broke the momentary silence making both of the siblings jump a bit and look at each other wide-eyed. Neither paid attention to what the soul reaper was saying but tried to get her attention.

"Hey! Soul reaper!!" Ichigo yelled.

"Excuse me." Hana tried.

The soul reaper turned to them, "What?" She asked.

"What do you mean what?!! Didn't you hear that loud roar just now!?" Ichigo yelled.

Hana nodded in agreement.

"Loud roar? When did..." The soul reaper trailed off as the roar sounded again just not as loud. This caused her to freeze.

The soul reaper was silent but looking around. Hana grit her teeth and did the same while Ichigo watched the soul reaper.

She looked at the two of them almost confused.

A shout caught the attention of all three.

"That was Yuzu!" Hana cried going to get up.

Before she could the soul reaper took off.

"Hey! Wait up, where are you going!? Was that roar from before a hollow's?!" Ichigo yelled after her.

Hana wasn't paying attention, she was following the soul reaper but she stopped making her run into her back.

"Yes! I will go and get rid of it!! You two stay here!!" She ordered.

Hana couldn't help but narrow her eyes.

"Cut the crap!! The one getting attacked is our family!! Release this spell hurry!!" Ichigo yelled.

"Please let us help, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Hana begged.

"What are you saying?! Even if you come there is nothing either of you can do! The number of victims will just rise by two! Leave it to me and stay here quietly! Got it?!!" The soul reaper yelled back and pushed Hana back away from the door.

For a moment it seemed like she couldn't stand back up. A voice gained the three's attention though and brought their eyes to Karin who was just outside the door.

"I... Ichi... Hana.... You okay...?" Karin asked weakly.

Karin was hardly holding herself up with blood dripping from her forehead.

"Karin!!" Ichigo yelled.

Hana was starting to shake. Her younger sisters and her brother were in danger and she couldn't move.

"Good... it hasn't come here..." Karin smiled weakly.

"It happened so suddenly... Blood suddenly started pouring out of Daddy's back and he fell..." She continued.

Hana's eyes began to water. Her father?

"Yuzu and I were attacked by something huge while we were still in shock... And I thought I had to... warn you..." She trailed off and her head fell to the floor.

"I wonder what that is... I could see it a little... It looked like Daddy and Yuzu couldn't see it... Ichi... Hana... Before it sees you... hurry... get away...." Karin trailed off and fell unconscious.

Ichigo and Hana both looked at her in shock, unable to move for different reasons. Ichigo was still bound by the spell and Hana was unable to move because of shock.

Tears started dripping down her cheeks even as the soul reaper spoke.

"Do not worry, she is just unconscious. Her soul is still..." She trailed off and looked at Ichigo who had started fighting against the invisible force holding him down.

Hana slowly turned to look at her brother, at the moment still unable to do anything. The shock was starting to wear off and giving her more freedom to move.

"Stop it! What are you doing!?" The soul reaper shouted at Ichigo. He still kept struggling.

"Stop it! You cannot release that incantation with a human's power!! If you force it your soul will..." She trailed off as Ichigo shouted and stood, the force no longer holding him down.

The soul reaper's eyes widened and she stared at him in shock. Ichigo grabbed Hana's arm and pulled her up before grabbing a baseball bat.

"Come on Hana, I know you won't just sit there!" He shouted. She nodded a bit and took off after her brother who passed the soul reaper while she was still lost in her own thoughts.

"Wait!!" She shouted after them.

Neither of them listened and continued downstairs.

"Yuzu!!" Ichigo shouted.

"Dad!!" Hana shouted in unison with him.

Ichigo skid to a halt at the end of the stairs and Hana just barely stopped herself from slamming into his back.

There was a hole smashed in the wall and the living and dining room were destroyed. Their father was lying on the floor surrounded by blood and Yuzu was nowhere to be found.

Hana ran out from behind Ichigo and checked her father's body for a pulse, sighing lightly in relief when she found it.

"Ichigo he's alive!" She yelled.

Ichigo didn't hear her, he was too focused on something outside of the hole. When she looked she could see the shape of something large. It caused both of them to momentarily freeze again.

Was this a hollow? This is what the soul reaper was here to fight?

The bleached white mask of the creature turned to face them making Hana flinch back just a bit.

Both couldn't find it in them to move and it was frustrating. It went on like that until they noticed a smaller form in the hollow's hand.

"Is that... Yuzu!!" Hana shouted and stood.

Ichigo finally found it in himself to move and gripped the bat tightly. He rushed up to the hollow and prepared to swing the bat.

Hana wanted to call out to him to stop but she couldn't make herself. If she did then there was no way that Yuzu would have a chance if he stopped.

Instead, she followed a bit behind him, she had no weapon but maybe there was something she could do to help. Maybe she could grab Yuzu while the hollow was distracted.

The hollow noticed Ichigo running up and before either could reach it, slammed Ichigo back into Hana and her back hit the wall.

She grit her teeth and closed her eyes in pain, her hands fisting into the back of her brother's jacket to try and ground herself.

When she managed to crack an eye open she saw the monstrous hollow leering over the two. It went to swing the hand holding Yuzu at them but was stopped by the soul reaper cutting into its arm.

That caused it to release Yuzu, Ichigo quickly caught her and Hana looked over his shoulder to check on her.

"Yuzu! You okay? Hey!?" He shouted.

The soul reaper slid to a stop in front of the tree.

"Do not lose focus you two! None of your family members have had their souls eaten!" She shouted.

Both Ichigo and Hana looked up at them.

"None...?" They mumbled.

"Yes, even your father lying over there!" The soul reaper said.

"Wait a minute! Don't hollows attack people to eat their souls?! Then what did it attack our family for?!" Ichigo shouted at her. Hana was busy checking over Yuzu's wounds. She didn't want to be a doctor like her brother but she knew a bit about wounds and the types of plants that could be used to help in healing.

She looked up at the soul reaper when she started speaking again.

"Hollows wander searching for souls with a high spiritual concentration... For that, arbitrary humans are sometimes attacked." She said.

"What do you mean?" Hana asked.

The soul reaper kept her back to them.

"I have never seen or heard of a human, let alone two, that can see soul reapers and defeat demon form on their own... Or humans with such high spiritual concentration..." She trailed off.

Hana stared at her back confused but let her eyes go to the hollow again, they still were safe from it yet.

"Most probably its target is either one or both of you!" The soul reaper said sternly.

Hana took a shaky breath and looked down at Yuzu again.

"Wait a second... He came for us...? So does that mean this is our fault?" Ichigo asked.

"The reason our dad's over there almost dead... The reason Karin and Yuzu are covered with blood... it's all..." He trailed off.

"Wait, I did not mean-" The soul reaper was cut off by the hollow hitting her to the opposite side as the two.

"Soul reaper!" Ichigo shouted.

Hana's eye locked on the hollow again.

She couldn't believe this was happening. She was the oldest, it was her job to take care of her younger siblings but look at what happened. She couldn't believe this.

"That's enough already!!" Ichigo yelled and stood.

Hana gently laid Yuzu off to the side.

"Ichigo you can't do this on your own!" She stood with him. No matter what happened, she would stay with her brother. She couldn't back down, she needed to stand with him.

This was partially her fault too from what the soul reaper said.

"Hey you, you want my soul right?" Ichigo said.

Hana looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Our souls Ichigo..." She mumbled.

He glanced at her but didn't show anything else.

"Then fight me face to face!! No one else has anything to do with this!! Try killing me and taking my soul!!" He shouted.

Hana squeezed his shoulder and glared, she was in this too.

"You fools!!" The soul reaper screamed.

The hollow lunged at the siblings and Ichigo continued to try and push Hana away, but she wouldn't let him.

The soul reaper didn't let the hollow get them though and took the bite from the creature. She fell to her knees gasping for breath.

"Soul reaper!" Hana yelled.

"You idiots..." The soul reaper lifted her head. "I already told you that your power is no match for it...! Or did you think that everything would be over if you gave him your souls to eat...?" She asked.

Hana stared at her again. It wouldn't have ended?

The soul reaper started to push herself up as the siblings apologized.

"Do not worry about it... Is what I would like to say... Unfortunately, I am no longer able to fight the hollow..." She looked at the two.

"Now all of us can only wait... Until we become its food...." She said.

Ichigo grumbled and hit the ground. Hana looked down and gripped his wrist tightly to support herself and attempt to support him.

"Do you want to save your family...?" The soul reaper spoke up. The two looked at her.

"Is there a way!? A way to help them?! Tell me!!" Ichigo yelled.

The soul reaper pushed herself up.

"There is a way... No, to be exact... I should say there is only one way for one of you..." She said with a pain-filled voice and held out her sword in front of them.

"You... become a soul reaper!" She said.

Hana grit her teeth. She wasn't strong, that was true. The best chance they had was if it was Ichigo and she knew that, but she didn't want to see him do it.

"What are you saying...? How can I...?" Ichigo mumbled.

"Pierce the middle of your chest with this zanpakutou... and I will insert half of my soul reaper power!" The soul reaper said.

Hana stopped listening and looked at her brother.

"Ichigo stop thinking and do it!! You're the only one that can! You're stronger than me and I couldn't do it anyway!" Hana forced out.

Both had been trained to fight by classes when they were young but Ichigo could do so much more. Hana had been limited due to having to have heart surgery to repair a hole in her heart when she was young. It had caused her to drop out of their karate classes.

Ichigo looked at his older sister and could see the panic in her eyes. Then the voice of their younger sister Yuzu caught his attention. She was mumbling despite being unconscious, telling them both to get away.

Hana was crying again but refused to look away from her brother.

"Ichigo stop stalling!!" She yelled.

Ichigo turned to the soul reaper. "Give me the sword soul reaper! Let's give your idea a try!" He said confidently.

Hana sniffed a bit while the soul reaper smiled.

"It's not "soul reaper", it is Rukia Kuchiki." She said.

"I see... I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Let's pray this doesn't become the last greeting for both of us." Ichigo said.

Hana heard the hollow roar behind them and quickly but carefully went to get Yuzu again. She had to get her away, it was the most she could do here. Before she could pick her younger sister up she felt like she was hit with a wall of heavy air pressure, it caused her to lose her breath for a moment but she straightened herself and lifted her sister up.

"Don't worry Yuzu, I've got you." She mumbled under her breath. The pressure was still there but she had to ignore it and get her sister to safety. She would let Ichigo fight on his own.

But she was having trouble getting Yuzu back to the house. She stumbled and held Yuzu closer to her body.

How long had she been this weak?

She wanted to lay down on the ground and rest but she wouldn't.

No, Ichigo was fighting and she had to fight too. She had to be there for all of them.

An image suddenly came to mind for Hana, a flower. A flower that she had only ever seen in her research of plants. Fuzzy brightly colored petals overlap into a tall cup shape.

Protea, proteas are meant to encourage courage and energy for someone who is fighting. Normally used for long battles against medical issues.

Her feet stopped moving as she thought of the flower, even visualized the frosty looking petals in her mind. Within a moment her body felt different, she felt stronger. Her breath was more even and Yuzu didn't feel as heavy in her arms.

The pressure she'd felt before was still there but weaker and now she was able to get Yuzu back to the house and away from the battle happening between their brother and a hollow.

She checked on her father again to make sure his heart was still beating before running up the stairs to check on Karin.

She was alright too.

Hana sighed and leaned against the wall only to slide down and sit on the floor. She felt weak again and simply listened to the sounds of fighting from outside, but she didn't know when it ended.

Everything caught up to her and her eyes closed.

_And with this, a new soul becomes entwined with the siblings. The first of many. As this new soul entwines with theirs, it will begin to entwine with many others and many more souls will be pulled into the web._

_That is how it always goes, isn't it?_


	3. Did That Really Happen?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of a new character but pretty standard Bleach OC insert fanfic stuff.  
> This chapter was originally posted on Wattpad in August of 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't remember when I started doing warnings at the beginning of chapters, so that might be a short bit from now.

Hana didn't remember going to sleep, and she didn't remember getting to her bed.

Of course, that didn't change the fact that she was in her bed when Yuzu woke her up.

Yuzu shook her oldest sister's shoulder repeatedly, how intense the shaking was got a bit stronger the longer it took Hana to wake up.

"Get up Hana, you forgot to set your alarm last night!" She yelled.

Hana opened her eyes and just stared at Yuzu for a minute. The events that had occurred the night before running through her mind like a tape on fast forward. Yuzu had been hurt, right?

Did all of that really happen or was it all a dream?

"Yuzu, you're alright?" She asked a bit hesitantly.

The younger girl gave her a confused look before smiling.

"Of course I'm alright! Did you have a bad dream or something?" She asked while giggling.

Hana didn't answer and instead looked around her room for a minute before finally nodding to Yuzu.

"Yeah, I must have had a bad dream." She mumbled half-heartedly before sending Yuzu away so that she could get ready for school.

She thought she heard her sister say something about an accident but brushed it off as her imagination for now as she got dressed.

"Great, I woke up late so I can't make a nice breakfast and pack lunch for everyone like I was planning," Hana grumbled as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

Even though she'd taught Yuzu how to cook and she was now capable of feeding the family, Hana still thought of it as her job to take care of everyone.

"I didn't get anything done that I planned on yesterday. I didn't check on my garden, I didn't cook dinner, I didn't plan lunch for today, I didn't get any laundry done either." She continued grumbling.

Since the death of their mother, Hana had taken on a lot of roles in the house. She felt that since she was the oldest it was her job to, and while she taught the others how to do things needed for caring for everyone in the house she still felt that it was her job to do it all.

Once she was ready she rushed downstairs and straight to the kitchen, not seeming to notice her family in the other room.

When she entered the kitchen she saw food already made. It caused her to sigh but smile.

Her baby sister was growing up.

Before she had more time to think about what might be missing, Ichigo rushed into the kitchen with a distressed look on his face.

"Ichigo, did you sleep in too?" Hana asked she assumed that would be what his panicked face was for.

He didn't answer and instead grabbed her shoulders.

"Hana, what happened last night?" He asked.

Hana thought for a minute before deciding that she would leave out what her dream was about. If it didn't really happen then there was no point in talking about it.

"Well, I remember eating dinner... Then I guess I went to bed but I had a crazy dream." She said.

Ichigo clenched his jaw and his grip tightened a bit on her shoulders. "The dream, was it about soul reapers and hollows?" He asked.

Hana's eyes widened a bit as she stared up at her brother. How could he possibly know about that? It wasn't very likely that they had the same dream.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked him.

Ichigo shook his head a bit. "I don't think so, but the others all seem to think that a truck crashed into the house while we were all asleep. I was beginning to think that everything last night was a dream but I remembered that you were there for it all and decided to see if you had any memory of it." He explained.

Hana nodded in response to him. "For now let's not worry about it. Everyone is fine and they don't need to know about what happened. Just go and get dressed for school." She said calmly.

Ichigo agreed with her and ran off to get ready for school.

Hana sighed a bit and went out to look at the damage from last night.

The hole the hollow had smashed in their wall was partially boarded up and the rubble it had caused seemed to have been cleaned up. It didn't quite fit and no one else seemed to notice.

She hardly listened to their father and Karin tell her their version of what happened the night before and checked them for injuries. Just like with Yuzu there were none.

Did the soul reaper heal them? Did she alter their memories?

If the altering memories part was true, then why did she and Ichigo still have their memories of the night before?

Shouldn't the soul reaper have taken them away just like the others?

Hana continued staring at the boarded-up hole in the wall as she thought about the events from the night before until a hand falling on her shoulder caused her to jump.

She looked to see Ichigo standing beside her. "Let's go or we're going to be late." He said.

She smiled a bit. "That's my line you know, I'm the older one here." She playfully scolded her brother before following him out the door.

As they headed out Hana spotted something that made her stop.

On the sidewalk was a partially crushed flower, a very familiar flower. Memories from the night before rushed through her mind again.

The crushed flower was a protea, the exact flower that had come to mind when she'd thought of how weak she'd been the night before. She knelt down and picked up the flower. To her knowledge none of the gardens in the area grew it, she'd never seen it in the area before.

Ichigo wondered why he hadn't seen his sister following him and turned to look at her. He noticed the flower and smiled a bit.

"Alright flower child, we've got to get to school." He called out.

She stood and jogged over to her brother with the flower in her hand. "Ichigo, something happened to me when you fought that hollow..." She trailed off.

He looked down at her and waited for her to continue. She explained how she'd visualized the exact flower that she held in her hand and had apparently gained more strength.

Ichigo was quiet for a minute, seeming to try and think of an explanation for that. "That is odd... But you are the flower child so it's not too surprising." He said and smirked.

Hana sighed but smiled a bit and pinched his arm. "Enough about that you dork, besides we made it to school." She said.

Both siblings headed inside to their classroom. Despite the fact that Hana was older than Ichigo by over a year and a half she was in the same year as him.

It wasn't long before they heard one of their classmates, Tatsuki, shouting about the supposed accident at their house. She was concerned about them getting hurt or being dead.

Ichigo whacked her in the head with his school bag. "I'm not dead." He said before pulling the bag back to him.

Hana crossed her arms over her chest at her brother's actions but gave Tatsuki a bit of a smile. "We're all fine." She said.

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint you but nobody was injured," Ichigo said.

Hana went to scold him for how he spoke to Tatsuki but was cut off by a familiar, cheerful voice belonging to another orange-haired classmate.

"Ichigo! Good morning!" She stuttered out with a big grin.

"Morning, you look happy as always, Orihime," Ichigo answered to her.

Hana smiled at her friend. "Good morning Orihime. I hope you slept well." She chirped.

Ichigo turned and went to sit down while Hana spent time socializing. The two siblings were almost always together and Hana rarely socialized if he wasn't around so if she started speaking to someone on her own then Ichigo would leave her to do so. As long as she seemed comfortable.

Orihime smiled at the older girl. "I did, thank you, Hana. Did you sleep well?" She asked.

Hana nodded, still smiling. "Yeah, I must have slept like a rock. I didn't hear anything about that accident last night." She said playing along with the accident story.

"So you don't know what happened then?" Orihime asked.

Hana shook her head but didn't say anything else.

Before long her attention was caught by a familiar voice. When she turned to find the source she found the soul reaper from last night standing at Ichigo's desk.

"Nice to meet you." The soul reaper chirped.

One of Ichigo's other friends, Mizuiro, decided to introduce the soul reaper, not that he knew that she was one.

Hana listened as he introduced her.

"Oh, this is Rukia. She transferred in today. It's a weird time, but her family was in a situation where they had to move suddenly." He explained to Ichigo.

Hana looked at the smiling soul reaper. So her name was Rukia.

Hana politely excused herself from speaking to Orihime and headed over to her brother and the now named soul reaper.

"Have you made a new friend, Ichigo?" She chimed in while walking up beside the black-haired soul reaper.

Rukia turned to Hana and kept a cheery smile on her face. "Why hello, I'm Rukia." She greeted and stuck out her hand to Hana.

The orange-haired girl noticed writing on Rukia's hand and quickly read the warning before shaking her hand. "I'm Hana, nice to meet you. It seems that you've already met my little brother." She said trying to strike up a conversation.

This shocked those who knew her since starting conversations with new people was a bit out of her comfort zone.

Rukia glanced between the siblings for a second before speaking. "If he is your little brother, why are you in the same class as him? Are you twins?" She asked.

Mizuiro looked at the two girls for a minute before glancing at Ichigo to see his reaction to his sister taking so well to the new student.

Ichigo hadn't taken his eyes off the two and was watching them intently.

Hana was still smiling at Rukia. "Well, I'm only about a year and a half or so older than him, and when I was about seven I had to spend some time in the hospital." She said and put a hand over her where the scar from the surgery she'd had at that time was.

"I ended up not being able to catch up and was held back a year." She finished explaining to the soul reaper.

She didn't know why she was already sharing so much about herself with this new acquaintance. Perhaps because she was interested in learning more about Rukia and soul reapers.

Or maybe it was just because the feeling that Rukia gave off was a bit relaxing to her.

Hana realized that she was still touching her scar and let her hand fall back to her side. A small smile was still on her face.

Rukia glanced at where Hana's hand had been, in the center of her chest, before meeting her eyes again. "I see, I'm sorry." She apologized.

Hana's smile changed to a bit of a brighter one. "It's alright." She said and went to take her seat when she heard the bell ring.

Throughout the class, Hana did her best to take notes but kept getting distracted by thoughts about the night before. She was still confused about where the Protea came from and was trying to think about it.

Ichigo could hardly pay attention to the lessons, he kept glancing at Rukia who seemed to ignore him.

Once class finished Ichigo started leading Rukia outside. Hana sighed a bit and followed.

There was no way she would miss out on a chance to learn more about what was going on in their world. Or a chance to ask Rukia if she knew anything about the flower.

"Where are we going?" Rukia asked.

Hana shrugged a bit from her spot beside her. She had no idea where her brother was intending to go.

Rukia didn't seem satisfied with her response and turned her attention back to getting information out of Ichigo. "Leading me to such an empty place, what dost thou intend of me?" She asked.

Hana rose an eyebrow at the sudden way her speech pattern changed.

Ichigo didn't seem amused by it either. "Stop that weird way of talking!!" He snapped.

That only served to offend Rukia. "Weird? How rude, is it not good for someone who learned in one day?" She asked.

Hana was even more confused now, she thought that Rukia's way of speaking the night before was perfectly fine, so why did she change it?

"Shut up! Just explain what's going on!" Ichigo snapped again.

Hana huffed and pinched him. "Maybe she would have already explained if you were more polite." She scolded.

Ichigo glared at her before ignoring what she said and looking back at Rukia when she spoke.

"Explain?" She sounded confused.

Ichigo's body language turned more aggressive. "Isn't your job over?! Why are you in our class? Didn't you go back to that soul society place!?" He fired off question after question.

"Ichigo! How about you ask one question at a time and calm down!" Hana snapped at him.

Before Ichigo could fire back at Hana, Rukia got their attention.

"You foolish boy! Only soul reapers can return to the soul society. Right now, I am not able to return there." She said.

Hana blinked and Ichigo looked at the soul reaper confused.

"What do you mean Rukia?" Hana asked.

Rukia sighed a bit in annoyance. "I lost my soul reaper powers!" she snapped at them.

The siblings were both shocked to hear this and Ichigo seemed to start dancing around for some reason. He always was pretty expressive.

"B-but I'm no longer a soul reaper! Where did this "soul reaper power" go?!" He asked loudly.

Rukia didn't seem amused. "It's "inside" of you. It's not your body but your soul that has become a soul reaper." She said.

Ichigo went silent and Hana looked at him. She put her hand on his arm to try and remind him that she was there for him if he needed her.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye before looking back at Rukia who kept talking.

"Anyway, last night I had almost all of my powers taken by you!!" She snapped.

"I have but barely any abilities left... I'm even forced to be in this artificial body!" She continued.

Hana looked at her oddly. What did she mean by "artificial body"?

Ichigo had the same thought as his sister, only he voiced it. "Artificial...?" He mumbled.

"It is we soul reaper's other body, to be used in emergency situations. A weakened soul reaper enters it to wait for his powers to recover." Rukia explained while pointing at herself. Well, she was more accurately pointing at her artificial body.

"So basically this body is your human form?" Hana asked.

Rukia nodded and crossed her arms. "Yes, weakened soul reapers are targets for hollows so we act like a human." She explained more. Then she went quiet and seemed to be thinking.

Hana was thinking as well. This was a lot to wrap her head around but she couldn't stop thinking about how she would bring up the flower. To ask Rukia about it and see if she knew anything.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the soul reaper who had a genuine "Eureka!" look on her face.

"That's it! Until my powers return, you will take over my soul reaper duties!" She exclaimed while gesturing to Ichigo.

Ichigo shouted in shock and looked at her as if she had a crab head and had insulted his favorite movie.

Hana looked at him and then at Rukia. There was a point to it, he had Rukia's powers so naturally in return he should take over her job for as long as he had them right?

"Of course, you're the one that has the soul reaper powers now. I will assist you of course. Also, you have no right to refuse since you were-"

Ichigo cut off Rukia and made an "x" with his hands. "I refuse!" He yelled.

Both Hana and Rukia stared at him in shock.

"What...?" Rukia mumbled.

"I said I refuse! I'm not fighting those monsters ever again!" Ichigo started walking away, waving to enforce that this conversation was over.

Hana looked between the two trying to think of what to do. Rukia had a point, naturally, something would happen if she couldn't do her job. As much as she hated the thought of more stress being put on her brother's shoulders, she agreed with Rukia.

"Ichigo wait!" She yelled.

This also seemed to help Rukia finally process what was said and she got upset. "You... Yesterday...!" She seemed to not know how to put what was on her mind into words.

Ichigo shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was only able to fight yesterday because my family was in danger." He said.

Hana clenched her fists, she was getting a bit upset with him.

Sure she didn't want him to get hurt but he always fought to protect others. Why was it different now?

"I ain't fighting monsters like that for total strangers! I'm not that nice of a person!!" He shouted.

Hana finally snapped. "Shut up Ichigo! Stop trying to act cool!!" She snapped and glared at him.

"As much as I don't want you getting hurt by fighting, that's never stopped you before." She said.

Ichigo scoffed and looked away from them again.

"Sorry to be disappointing." He said.

Hana would have snapped at him again if Rukia hadn't distracted her by pulling out a fingerless glove with a strange pattern on it.

"I see... Then there is no other way!" She said and tugged on the glove.

Ichigo turned to look at her just in time to have Rukia slam the heel of her hand into his jaw.

His body and soul separated from each other leaving the soul sitting on his ass on the ground and the body lying face first.

Hana looked between the two of them and then at Rukia. "Um, Rukia... Did you just kill my brother?" She asked.

Rukia looked at her and shook her head but the only other answer Hana got was Ichigo being told to follow Rukia.

She may have told Ichigo to follow but Hana wasn't just going to let this happen without her.

The trio headed to a nearby park and simply stood there waiting for a good 20 minutes. In that time Hana had gotten a bit bored and started inspecting the plant life around them.

Ichigo and Rukia were both silent for most of the time. "Hey..." He tried to start.

Rukia simply kept her arms crossed and refused to look at him. "Wait, it will be soon." She said.

Ichigo wasn't very happy with that response. "What's soon?! We've been here 20 min-" The sure to be rant was interrupted by Rukia.

"Does a spirit appear near this park?" She asked.

Hana turned her attention away from the flowers and to Rukia.

Ichigo nodded in response to her question.

"What kind?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo crouched down and held his hand out to show the height of the spirit. "A five-year-old kid. He usually plays here around noon." He said.

Hana couldn't understand where this was going but chimed in any way. "He's a sweet little thing." She said.

"Your friend?" Rukia asked them.

Ichigo looked at her. "Why would you ask that?! I've just seen him three, maybe four times. Never spoken to him." He answered.

Hana looked at him. "I've played with him before when I've had time. I feel so bad that he doesn't have anyone to play with." She said.

Ichigo didn't seem to pay attention to her. "So what does that matter?!" He snapped.

Rukia shoved a cell phone in his face.

The siblings both read the message on the phone.

"What's this?" Ichigo asked.

Hana looked up at the weakened soul reaper.

"An order from the soul society. It means that within 15 minutes of 12, within a 20-meter vicinity of Yumizawa Children's Park a hollow will appear." Rukia explained.

Hana caught on and immediately started to look around the park. "You don't mean that he'll be attacked, do you?" She asked.

Rukia looked at her but didn't react otherwise and that was all the confirmation that she needed to know that she was right.

Ichigo was still staring at the phone silently.

Not a minute later they all heard the boy's screams. He was being chased by a spider-like monster, a hollow.

Hana went running for the boy but Rukia grabbed her arm to stop her.

At the same moment, Ichigo went to draw his sword but was also stopped by the soul reaper. "Wait! Are you going to help him? Isn't he a stranger?" She asked.

Hana could see what she was doing but couldn't stand it. She had to help that boy somehow!

She no longer heard Ichigo's voice. She no longer felt Rukia's grip on her arm. The only thing she was focused on was the boy. Her breath was shaky and tears pricked the corner of her eyes as the boy tripped. She felt frozen as if time stopped.

The next thing she knew, she was kneeling on the ground and holding the boy close to her.

Whether Ichigo felt the same or not, she would do anything she could to help these souls.

She looked up at the insect hollow with glazed-over eyes. Her arms held the boy tightly and she could feel her muscles tighten to get ready to move at a moment's notice.

The hollow over the two let out a sound, it was speaking. "Who... are you...?" It grumbled out.

Its reply was a large blade slicing his leg through one of its multiple legs.

Hana looked up to see her younger brother standing over her and the boy and got a small smile on her face.

Rukia watched the group from the background. "Ichigo... You've accepted?" She asked.

Ichigo didn't reply and instead slammed his blade into the ground only about an inch away from Hana and the boy making them both jump. "Shut the hell up!!" He yelled.

Hana kept holding the boy as Ichigo snapped at Rukia. She tuned it out to try and comfort the boy, trying to keep him from noticing the hollow racing back towards them. As she distracted him she could feel her muscles tighten again, ready to move if she needed to.

Just as she prepared to propel herself and the boy out of the hollow's way, Ichigo's blade smashed right through the center of its face. Hana froze and couldn't help but follow the blade as Ichigo swung it upwards so that it sliced through the top of the hollows head. The whole time she was hiding the boy's face so that he wouldn't see it.

Ichigo turned to Rukia to finish up the rant he had been going on the whole time and now Hana listened again. "I'm going to help you! I'm going to do this soul reaper thing." He said before mumbling about how he was going to do it even if he didn't want to.

Rukia thanked him.

Hana was still smiling as she turned her attention back to the soul in her arms. "You're safe now, but you can't be safe here forever." Her voice was gentle as she spoke.

Rukia and Ichigo turned their attention over to her.

"You need to hurry and move on so you can be safe." Hana continued.

The boy looked up at her as she continued speaking. "I loved playing games with you but if you move on there will be lots of other kids to play with, I'm sure of it." She grinned at the boy.

He nodded and smiled back. "Okay, thank you miss for playing with me." He said.

Hana gave him one last hug before moving so that Ichigo could perform a Konso on the boy. She kept smiling at him as he disappeared.

Once that was finished she turned to her brother still smiling. "Ichigo, no matter if I have power or not, I will help you with this. I will help any soul that I can." She said firmly.

Ichigo smiled a bit. The siblings were similar about being stubborn and he knew that if she really wanted to help, he couldn't stop her.

"Alright, just watch your heart." He said.

Hana shook her head. "I'm the one who's supposed to look after you." She said.

Rukia simply watched the siblings with a small smile.

The trio didn't notice the person hiding nearby. They were very good at concealing their presence since they'd been doing it for a long time.

They watched the three confused.

Why would a soul reaper be able to be seen by two humans?

Wait, it didn't seem that the orange-haired soul reaper was naturally one. There's no way that a soul reaper was so closely related to a human, right?

The person shook their head to chase away those thoughts and quickly left the area. They couldn't afford to be noticed by a soul reaper and this wasn't their business.

Unless he told them otherwise, it wouldn't be their business.

Another string added to the tangle, or has it been a part of it longer than anyone has realized?


	4. What Exactly is Going On?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo, Hana, and Rukia continue on with the "new normal" for their lives. You, as the reader, get to learn more about Hana as a character.   
> This chapter was originally posted on Wattpad in October 2017

The normality for the two eldest Kurosaki siblings was quickly changing. It was hardly what they used to consider normal anymore. Not that the previous normal for them was considered normal to others.

Rukia's introduction into their lives just seemed to push it farther from the norm that others experienced. Now they not only had their school classes but also had to learn the basics of being a soul reaper.

It wasn't required of Hana but she insisted on learning as well. It was a bit surprising to her that she could follow some of the information fairly easily. The information actually had something to do with the flower incident in a way. It gave Hana an opportunity to ask Rukia about the flower and gave them a chance to try and figure out what caused it.

So far, there was no explanation and they hadn't been able to recreate the flower.

This lead to where the group was currently. Hana sitting beside the currently powerless soul reaper while she thought about what could have caused the flower's appearance. Rukia was reading through a manga while Ichigo was in the middle of his training. Which at the moment included a strange pitching machine and a baseball bat.

It became hard for Hana to think after a bit, and Rukia reading her manga out loud to herself didn't help much. She looked at the soul reaper with a small smile on her face. It was kind of cute how interested Rukia was in the book.

Her voice changed for each character she read and small beads of sweat formed on the side of her face because of how invested in the story she was. The book was held up to her nose and she was dead to the world around her.

Ichigo wasn't as nearly amused with Rukia's antics as his sister was and stomped up behind the girl. Because of how dead she was to the outside world, Rukia didn't notice the boy behind her.

This made him grit his teeth in annoyance, Hana simply ignored him and kept her attention on Rukia. That didn't last long before Ichigo ruined it.

"Hey! What are you doing?!!" He shouted. It scared Rukia who screamed and would have fallen over backward if Hana hadn't caught her. She tried not to giggle at the reaction and bit her lip.

Rukia quickly righted herself, snapped her manga shut, and flailed her arms around. "Y-y-y-you fool! Don't surprise me!! I'm studying modern speech!!" She shouted.

Ichigo was silent for a minute and looked at Hana as if asking if Rukia was serious. Hana shrugged a bit and kept smiling. Rukia was obviously having fun "studying" so she wasn't going to say anything to ruin it.

That wouldn't stop Ichigo though.

"Studying modern speech, with that book?" He mumbled and started glaring again. "You're making me train while you relax and read a horror manga?!" He snapped.

Hana sighed and stretched her arms over her head, getting ready to take the attention off of the soul reaper for the moment. "So, you finished training?" She asked her brother.

Ichigo turned his glare to his sister and Rukia smiled a little. He huffed a bit and rested the bat on his shoulder. "Hitting the 100 pepper filled balls, right? Yeah, I'm done." He said and pat the pitching machine.

Rukia didn't wait for a beat before snapping at him. "You fool! The pepper filled balls were only the bad ones!"

Hana sighed quietly and held onto the manga that was shoved into her hands when Rukia stood to reprimand Ichigo. Her fingers gently ran over the smooth surface of the book's cover.

Ichigo and Rukia always seemed to be fighting and it annoyed her. Though it was normal for Ichigo to clash with others, that didn't mean she enjoyed hearing it.

The two continued to ramble and yell at each other and she didn't say a thing. Instead, she thought about the training exercise.

She found a flaw in it. One ball had a hand on it and the other had a head, Ichigo was only supposed to hit the balls with a head on them. It was meant to be a practice at swift kills but Hana didn't really see how it applied. The hollows that she had seen were very large, meaning their heads were large too.

So using a small ball with a face drawn on it seemed inaccurate. It wasn't a good representation of what a hollow was really like.

"I'm not sure if this is the best way to go about this..." She spoke up.

Rukia and Ichigo both turned to look at her. Rukia was frowning while Ichigo smiled at his sister. "See! Hana agrees with me!" He shouted.

Hana picked up and chucked a pebble at him. "Be quiet. I mean... It's just that the size difference seems to be too large... I guess..." She mumbled.

The explanation about why was so clear in her head but she couldn't figure out how to put it into words. Her eyes fell to the book in her hands, frustrated with how she was unable to explain herself.

Rukia sighed a little bit and crossed her arms again. "It may seem pointless because hollows are so much larger than the balls but working with smaller targets works to increase your accuracy." She explained.

Hana could see that point now that it had been explained and she felt a bit dumb to have not noticed it before. Her face turned a bit red and she hummed to show that she heard Rukia. How could she have not thought of that before?

Though she had to admit that her head felt cloudy right now as if there was a thick fog resting behind her eyes. It was something that happened occasionally to her, normally it was around when something bad would happen. Though it didn't always happen.

Ichigo seemed to notice his sister's reaction and put a hand on her head, not showing if he cared or not when she didn't react. "Hey, I didn't get it either." He said. It was an attempt to get her to cheer up.

Hana nodded a bit and brushed her brother's hand away. She just didn't feel like being touched now, it was as if she was shutting down.

Ichigo and Rukia continued to talk but Hana couldn't focus anymore. She recognized this feeling and felt anxiety start to pool in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't think of what might be about to happen and that messed with her anxiety.

She needed to relax, that was for sure.

A shout from behind them made all three jump. When they turned they saw the ever-cheerful Orihime. Hana blinked, normally she would smile and wave back at her friend but she couldn't find the energy to.

"O-O-Orihime? W-w-what are you doing here?!" Ichigo stuttered out. He was still coming back from being scared which occasionally made him stutter.

Orihime giggled. "Just doing a little dinner shopping." She said and pulled a leek out of her shopping back. "I bought leeks, butter, bananas, and gelatin!" She said happily.

Hana finally found it in her and made herself smile a bit. "That sounds interesting Hime." She chimed.

Orihime smiled bigger and nodded. "It's going to be so yummy!" She chirped and then gained a bit of a confused look. "What are you two doing here?" She asked.

"Oh... uh..." Ichigo mumbled. He was at a loss for words.

Hana looked at him and Orihime, ready to come up with some random excuse that would probably be believable to the other girl. It turned out that she wouldn't need to though. Orihime had gotten distracted when she noticed Rukia standing behind the siblings.

"Rukia?!" She yelped. Rukia didn't look amused or happy to see her.

"Who the hell are you?" Rukia mumbled.

Ichigo turned to her, angry again. "Idiot! That's Orihime, she's in our class!" He snapped, being sure to stay quiet enough that Orihime wouldn't hear him.

Rukia looked confused for a second before seeming to remember who the other orange-haired girl was. "Oh, Orihime. Honored to make your acquaintance." She chimed in a sweet tone and curtsied to Orihime.

Orihime copied the gesture in return making Hana giggle a bit. She only stopped when Orihime went quiet, it was a bit odd for her. Ichigo noticed this as well and changed the subject from greetings.

"What's wrong with your arm? Did you fall down?" He asked.

Hana blinked and zeroed in on her friend's arm. It was bandaged around the bicep.

Orihime perked up. "Oh, this? No, I was hit!" She said cheerfully.

"Hit by a car?!!" Ichigo shrieked.

Hana had grabbed Orihime gently by her shoulders to check her over as the cheerful girl kept speaking. "Yeah, last night I went out shopping to get something to drink and BAM! I've been getting hit a lot lately." She giggled.

Hana looked at her with a concerned expression. "Hime, please don't laugh. That's a very serious thing. Please call me next time okay?" She nearly begged.

Orihime just smiled at her. "It's okay, it's not like they hit me on purpose." She said.

"You get hurt often, Orihime?" Rukia, who had been listening to the conversation piped up.

Orihime nodded. "I zone out a lot so..." She trailed off.

Hana sighed a bit and shook her head. Though she couldn't say anything bad about her doing it. That was because it was something the two orange-haired girls had in common. The difference was that Hana almost always had Ichigo with her to look after her. Even though she was the older of the two, he often acted as the older sibling in situations like that.

"You shouldn't act like its unavoidable then!!" Ichigo snapped.

Hana shook her head at him and gently unwound the bandage to see Orihime's wound. "Hime, did you put anything on this?" She asked.

Orihime blinked and looked at her. "No, but I washed it." She said.

Hana nodded a bit. "If you want, I can give you a piece of my aloe plant to rub on it, if it hurts." She offered.

Orihime smiled again and nodded. "Sure!" She chirped. It was common for Hana to offer one of her more medicinal plants when one of her friends needed help.

Hana smiled back and carefully rewrapped her bandage for her. Since her father was a doctor, and she was around doctors often as a child, she wanted to learn how to take care of wounds. Her interest in plants helped too because many of them can be used to treat small wounds and ailments.

Rukia caught Orihime's attention. "That mark on your leg, can I see it?" She asked.

"Oh, this? Sure go ahead." Orihime replied and held her leg out a bit so that Rukia had better access to see it.

The black-haired girl knelt down to examine a nasty looking bruise on Orihime's calf that Hana felt bad about not noticing. Rukia got a dark look on her face but stayed quiet as she continued looking over the bruise.

Orihime bent down a bit. "What's with the scary face?" She asked.

Rukia looked up at her and dropped the look. "Huh? Oh, I was just thinking that it looks painful." She said.

Hana took this chance to take a look at the bruise herself.

Orihime stood straight up again. "Wow! You're right! My leg hurts much more than my arm!" She said.

Hana very gently touched the very edge of the bruise. Something about it felt off to her. After a minute of looking at it, she stood and looked at Rukia who seemed deep in thought. She tried to think but Ichigo's nagging made it hard to.

Ichigo was used to having to nag people who seemed careless, partially due to both Orihime and Hana.

Hana blocked out Ichigo's nagging to the other orange-haired girl so that she could think. Her attention was only brought back when Orihime yelled. "Oh! It's so late!" She exclaimed.

Ichigo crossed his arms and looked at the girl skeptically. "In a rush?" He asked.

Orihime was already taking off. "Yeah! Laugh hour is almost on!" She yelled back.

Ichigo sighed a bit. "You want me to walk you home?!" He shouted after Orihime.

She hardly froze for a second but denied his offer.

Hana smiled a bit. "Just be safe Hime! Call me if you need anything!" She yelled after her friend.

Orihime waved. "Alright! I promise I'll call!" She yelled back before she disappeared.

Rukia, who had been silent again, gained the siblings' attention. "That Orihime girl, are you two close to her?" She asked.

The Kurosaki siblings looked at her, Ichigo was the first to speak. "Not really. Well, I guess so." He said.

Hana nodded in response. "She's my friend." She said.

Ichigo gestured to his sister. "Well there's that and she's friends with someone who lived in our neighborhood since 8th grade." He continued.

"Any family?" Rukia asked.

Hana pat Ichigo's shoulder to tell him that the response was all up to him and walked out of earshot of the two. She hated thinking about that day. It was one of the days she felt the weakest like she had no ability to help anyone.

She had sat with Orihime that day to try and comfort her. She helped her clean the blood from her clothes.

Hana remembered the smell of the blood, it had made her feel sick but she had pushed through it simply to help the younger girl by thinking of how she would act if it had been her younger sisters in this situation.

It was shortly after that, that her nurturing side had taken over and it was easier to ignore the smell of blood. She'd given Orihime a set of her clothes to change into and helped wash the blood off of her skin.

The whole time she spoke gently and tried to comfort the girl that would become her friend. After she had taken the bloody clothes to be cleaned, Ichigo had stayed with Orihime to keep her company.

Since then, Hana had sort of adopted Orihime as a sister. That's what she did with a few others too.

Hana was pulled from her memories when Ichigo pat her head. "Hey Flower Child, we've got to get home. Your plants probably need to be watered, don't they?" He asked.

Hana nodded a bit and went to say goodbye to Rukia, only to notice that she was already gone. "Rukia already left?" She asked.

Ichigo just nodded a little bit. "Yeah, why do you care?" He asked.

"She's nice, I think she's my friend," Hana explained and started following her brother as they headed home.

The walk stayed silent after that, even after they got home and to the garden, it was quiet between them.

Hana was happy to have Ichigo's company while gardening but he wasn't much help. She had tried and tried to get him to learn the names of all of her plants and teach him their needs, but he never picked it up. This often resulted in some of her plants being overwatered or the wrong ones being trimmed.

He wasn't very good at trimming the plants anyway. He always cut off larger parts than necessary when he trimmed.

It used to make her mad and get him banned from the garden for as long as she said, but she'd gotten over being so angry. Of course, she would get upset if he destroyed one of her painstakingly cared for plants on accident, but it wasn't that bad.

The siblings continued to care for the garden almost silently, only occasionally did Hana speak up to ask Ichigo to take care of one of her plants. Ichigo was currently pulling some weeds out of the Shasta Daisies while Hana was trimming her rose bush.

This was normal, finally actually normal for the two. They both needed to relax and doing something as seemingly menial as gardening turned out to be perfect.

That's how gardening always was for Hana. It made her remember gardening with her mother. How the two had started the garden with some tiger lilies and how it steadily grew from there. Her mother had even made a point to learn about each of the plants she brought Hana so that she could teach her. The meanings of each plant, and what they could be used for.

Hana had taken it a bit further as she got older and even started looking into the magical properties of the plants, it was all so interesting to her.

The girl sighed softly and went on to water a plant that had sprouted in her garden a few years ago. She hadn't planted it and at first had no idea what it was but with some research found out.

Deadly Nightshade had sprouted in her garden, it was a bit odd considering it wasn't really native to the area and she had never planted it but she couldn't bring herself to find a way to get rid of it. She was careful to warn her family about the toxic flower and even showed them where it had sprouted so that they would avoid it.

Only once did someone get into it. Ichigo had run into the plant shortly after her telling him about it. He'd rubbed his face with his hands to get anything he could off of his face and shortly afterward had thought he'd gone blind and had gotten a rash. The skin he'd touched swelled and his eyes hurt. He'd been lucky that Hana knew exactly what the plant was and that their father had been able to treat it quickly.

He was also lucky that he hadn't decided to eat any of the berries.

At first, Hana had been concerned that animals might get into her garden and munch on the plant, leaving them dead but it seemed that everything but her brother stayed away from the plant. She didn't really question it and just assumed that because the plant was toxic, animals stayed away from it.

However, she'd been in contact with the plant herself, and had never broken out in a rash, it was odd to her but she decided to not question it anymore.

She watered the tall plant while still being careful not to touch it. Even if it didn't affect her, it would still affect people she touched if it got on her hands.

It wasn't too long afterward that the siblings headed inside. Hana washed her hands before helping Yuzu get started on dinner while Ichigo and their father bickered as always. Karin stayed in the kitchen with her sisters to avoid the bickering.

Yuzu talked and talked about her day, she always loved to. Hana would smile and respond to her and remind Karin to be polite when she was rude. They were happy, and that's what Hana liked to see.

Nothing strange happened, no hollows, no soul reapers. It was just normal, a nice little break from their new lives.

Ichigo looked at his older sister, wondering if she was still feeling the same as before. She seemed to have become a master at pretending that nothing was wrong. It was either that or she adapted to change very easily.

He could never really tell. Hana had become the kind of person who kept her emotions to herself and not let them out around others. She didn't want to bother them with her problems and instead of dealing with her own emotions would take care of other people first.

It was all so different from when they were little. Because their parents had been worried about Hana's heart, she wasn't allowed to participate in many sports or activities.

Once her younger brother started karate she had become jealous and angry, and she took it out on him. At that point, their mother looked to gardening as an outlet for Hana. She was still an angry child but gardening helped her calm down.

Ichigo smiled to himself at the thought that he was allowed to help her in the garden. It had been her safe space since it was started and to be allowed in it meant she trusted you. The twins hadn't been allowed in the garden as much as him.

Dinner seemed to end in no time and left Ichigo with plenty of time to think about this.

He was pulled from his thoughts by his older sister. "Ichigo, are you going to take a bath?" She asked.

Ichigo looked up at her. "Yeah, why?" He asked.

"I was thinking of taking one, but I'll go after you," Hana replied.

Ichigo shook his head a bit and stood up. "Nah, you can go ahead." He shooed her towards the bathroom.

Hana giggled a bit and pat his head as she passed to head to the bathroom. While she bathed Ichigo worked on his homework, easy enough to do for him.

Once she was done with her bath, Hana dressed and told Ichigo that it was his turn before heading to her room. She watered her little pot of lavender and her aloe along with a few other plants she kept in her room before sitting down to work on her own homework until Ichigo could help her.

She listened to music as she worked to try and keep her from getting frustrated as she worked. She worked on all of the subjects that were fairly easy for her before attempting to work on the others. This was why she was waiting for Ichigo. He helped her with her schoolwork when he could and she was very thankful for it.

Once he was out of the bath Ichigo knocked on his sister's door to get her attention. "Hey Hana, let's work on homework." He said.

Hana quickly gathered her things and started heading to his room with him to get a little surprise finding Yuzu at his door.

"Hey! Don't open without knocking!" Ichigo snapped at her.

Hana nodded in agreement with him.

Yuzu turned to face them. "Oh, you were downstairs." She said to herself.

Hana smiled a bit and pat her head. "What are you doing here, Yuzu?" She asked.

Yuzu looked at her, "Oh, my dress is missing. Have either of you seen it?" She asked.

The eldest Kurosaki sister giggled a bit. "I doubt Ichigo would have seen it. But, I'm sorry to say that I haven't seen it either." She replied.

Yuzu pouted a bit. "I'm also missing a pair of pajamas." She said.

Hana sighs a bit and shook her head. "I haven't seen any of your pajamas either. Tell you what, next week I'll make some time to take you shopping for new ones okay?" She asked.

Yuzu grinned and hugged her sister. "Oh thank you! You're always so nice Hana!" She cheered and ran off.

Ichigo frowned a little. "I thought you were saving up money for something." He said.

Hana sat on his bed and set up her homework. "Yeah, I was going to see about redoing some of the landscaping on my garden I was thinking about new boarders, birdhouses, feeders, and such." She paused and looked up at Ichigo. "But it's okay. I'll probably bring Karin along too... Would you want to come along?" She asked.

Ichigo just kept frowning. "You don't need to do that. Honestly, Hana, you save up any money you get but then spend it on us." He said.

Hana kept her eyes on him and twirled the pencil in her hand. "Ichigo, I want to do this. You're my family and I want to take care of you..." She mumbled.

Ichigo sat beside her. "You don't have to do everything for us." He tried reassuring her.

She smiled and messed up his hair. "Whatever, let's just get to work on this, I'm kind of stuck." She pointed at her homework and laughed.

The two got to work and worked together on homework for a while, yet another normal thing for them to do. Because of how intelligent Ichigo was, it didn't take too long. Of course, he didn't do the work for her but he made sure to help her.

Once finished with her work, Hana gathered it all up and sat it to the side. The siblings were silent for a bit, trying to decide if they should do something else or if they would just sit in silence.

Hana's mind clouded again within a minute of silence, something was really bothering her. A small whisper of a voice in her head seemed to be telling her that something was wrong. It didn't seem right, there'd never been a voice like this in her head before.

It bothered her but didn't bother her as much as the sudden fluttering of her heart. It beat faster and faster. Breathing started to become harder and her anxiety from earlier returned.

So much was on her mind at the moment that she couldn't focus on a single thing around her. It was hard to when her heart felt like it was trying to escape her chest.

This couldn't be a heart attack, could it? Could her heart be about to stop?

She wanted to reach out to her brother, to try and tell him that something was wrong, but she couldn't. Her body wouldn't move and even if it would, she could only see a bit of a blur that she assumed was her brother.

After a minute her vision went black. She thought she was dead until she felt herself hit the floor.

Her heart stopped trying to free itself from her chest and she could suddenly breathe easier but was still left panting. Her vision cleared and the first thing she saw was a hollow at Ichigo's headboard.

Neither Ichigo nor Rukia faced her, as much as they wanted to check on her the hollow demanded their attention first.

Though Hana could see the hollow, she still couldn't react. No thoughts seemed to reach her mind and all she could do was stare. It was a minute or two before Ichigo was free to make sure she was okay.

"Hana!!" He shouted, it brought her out of her trance and her eyes focused on him.

"Ichigo...?" She mumbled. It felt like she could hardly speak. Ichigo's hands were on her shoulders and holding her firmly.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked. He was almost horrified about what he was currently dealing with but Hana couldn't register it. She didn't see anything different.

"I'm.... okay..." She said.

Rukia sighed and turned to Ichigo. "We have to go now, we'll deal with this when we get back." She said sternly.

Ichigo glared at her for a second but nodded and let go of his sister. "Stay here." He ordered her.

Hana blinked. "Where are you going?" She asked.

The younger sibling stood and looked down at the older. "Orihime's." He answered her.

Hana seemed to snap out of whatever was bothering her and jumped to her feet. "I'm not just going to sit here while you go to Orihime's supposedly to fight a hollow!" She snapped.

Both Ichigo and Rukia ignored her and took off.

Hana couldn't believe it. Not only had she been ignored but she'd been left. The frustration built up and she kicked at the floor, not expecting her foot to come into contact with anything but the floor.

When her foot came into contact with something fairly soft she huffed and crossed her arms, she simply thought that it was her brother's body.

However, when she looked down, it was not her brother's body that she saw.

It was her own.

Her eyes widened and she stepped back in horror. "What...?" She mumbled and looked down at the self that wasn't in her body. Instead of finding her pajamas, she found black and aqua green.

These were not her clothes.

Long sleeves almost fell past her hands and a thick belt kept the kimono-like garment secured to her. The end of the outfit was at about her mid-thigh and on her feet were socks and sandals much like both Rukia and Ichigo wore in their soul reaper uniforms. Her eyes momentarily caught sight of a flower that was on the front of her belt but she ignored it and looked between her shaking hands and her lifeless body.

"Wh-what exactly is going on?!" She cried.

A broken string can be tied back together to be repaired, but it will never be the same.


	5. Listen To Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orihime is attacked by a hollow! Hana has to come to terms with being in a spirit form.   
> This chapter was originally posted on Wattpad in October 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does contain violence. If you find any other things that I should put as a warning please let me know.  
> Thank you.

Hana ran a shaky hand through her hair, she found the sides pulled up into a ponytail but didn't pay much attention to that at the moment. She had to do something. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing while Ichigo ran off to save Orihime.

Her previous worries about her heart no longer bothered her, they were in the back of her mind at the moment even as she looked down at her body. Could she really just leave it there while she ran off? What would happen if her family decided to check on them?

Ichigo's lifeless body caught her eye. He'd left his body there and it hadn't been the first time considering the fact that it had been left at school while they handled the hollow in the park. Surely if he left his body, she could leave hers alone.

Without another thought, the girl slipped out the window. Carefully she climbed down the side of the house and ran out to the street. She knew the way to Orihime's because she'd made a point to cook food for her and bring it to her when they'd first met. She followed the empty streets, not caring to hide from any eyes that might be watching. The first words Rukia had said to them echoed in her mind.

"You can see me?" She'd asked.

Normal people could not see spirits, and if her soul had left her body then no normal person could see her. That had to be right considering the few people that had been out on the street didn't seem to see her.

Because of that, she paid them no mind and kept running.

A sheathed sword that she hadn't noticed before tapped annoyingly against her leg as she ran causing her to place a hand on the bright violet hilt of the blade in order to keep it still. She didn't bother asking herself where the blade came from because she didn't have time. Now that the blade was held secure by her hand it no longer tapped against her leg letting her pay more attention to her running.

The path to Orihime's house seemed longer than it ever had before and no matter how fast she ran it seemed like she was running in place. Her feet were moving and so was the road beneath her but there was still the illusion of stillness. It forced her to push herself to go even faster, in hopes of escaping the illusion. Still, nothing seemed to be fast enough.

Hana reached the home of her friend just as Ichigo came crashing through the wall. Rukia standing on the street looked up in shock and mild horror at the scene while Hana rushed over to her.

"Rukia!" She shouted. It caught the soul reaper's attention and her violet eyes widened.

"Hana! You should have stayed at home!" Rukia shouted back, attempting to step in front of her.

Hana ignored her and instead focused on her brother's form floating in the air above them. Before she could call out to him to see how she could help, another voice grabbed her attention.

It was a distorted voice, the kind of distorted that she'd heard from one kind of creature before, a hollow.

"What's wrong...? For a guy spouting off big words... Your movements sure are slow..." The voice ground out. It belonged to a hollow slowly emerging from the large hole in the wall that Ichigo had created when he crashed through when he was ejected from the home.

Hana's jaw clenched at the hollow and her eyes narrowed a bit. There had to be something she could do to help her brother. She didn't have time to think much before the hollow spoke again.

"Is it... That much of a shock that Orihime's soul has been removed from her body?" The hollow asked and began to open its mouth. That movement isn't what any of the others were focused on, it was what the hollow had said.

Hana's body froze and her hands began to shake a bit. There was a heaviness settling in her chest and she found it hard to breathe. Her heartbeat quickened, not unlike before, though it didn't feel the same. While the beat was fast it wasn't painful as it often got when she had anxiety attacks. That wasn't what the most important thing on her mind was at the moment though.

The most important thing was trying to figure out how to return Orihime's soul to her body and make sure that she was unharmed.

Her attention was pulled away from the younger orange-haired girl held in the hollow's hand when it fired a red beam at Ichigo. The beam hit his right hand and Hana could hear him cry out in pain. It had burned him and hurt enough to make him drop his blade. The hollow took advantage of Ichigo being weaponless and distracted to slam him into the ground with its tail. The resulting impact left a crater around the orange-haired boy's body.

Shouts of concern came from all three girls at the scene and Hana found herself in a conflict. Ichigo was down for now and that meant he couldn't help Orihime. Would Hana go to her brother or take the chance to do what she could about helping her friend?

She decided in the blink of an eye and it hurt her to do so. Hana left Rukia to check on Ichigo while she quietly scaled the wall to Orihime's apartment. It was a bit difficult for her considering she wasn't the most athletic and didn't have much experience with climbing but she managed.

Hana could hear Orihime's cries for the hollow to release her and then the hollow spoke to her. It spoke to her in a familiar tone and it was silent for a minute before Orihime spoke up again.

It was slightly broken but Hana heard it clearly. "B-brother?!" She cried out shocked.

Hana froze, her fingers still clinging to the side of the apartment. She chose not to reveal herself to the two yet and chose to listen. There wasn't much else she could do and she wanted to know what she was dealing with. Using all of the strength she had in her arms, she pulled herself up just enough to see what was going on.

The hollow placed Orihime on her feet and released her. "Is it really you brother?" Orihime questioned.

The hollow nodded his head. "Yes, it is. So you haven't forgotten." He answered.

Hana furrowed her eyebrows a bit. The way he'd said that was a bit upsetting. Why would he say that?

The next time Orihime spoke it was clear that she was much more upset. Her shoulders shook and her voice wavered. "Why? Why did you do horrible things to Tatsuki and Ichigo? Why...?!" She demanded an answer.

Hana's eyes widened again, Tatsuki was involved in this? Her eyes glanced around for the dark-haired girl and found her injured against a wall. Of course, her other friend would be pulled into this, her and Orihime were rarely apart. The older girl bit her lip and pulled herself carefully into the room, not yet wanting to be noticed.

The hollow glowered down at Orihime. "Why? Isn't the reason obvious?" He asked.

Hana hardly took a breath, still trying to figure out how she would help her two friends while at the same time trying to listen to what the hollow had to say.

"Those two tried to tear you and me apart!" The hollow growled.

Hana frowned again at his explanation. She could understand now why he felt forgotten, but he didn't seem to think it through entirely. Maybe that's just how hollows were. Perhaps they focused on something that made them mad and ignored all logic behind it.

Tatsuki and Ichigo had helped make Orihime happy again. Just because she had new people in her life and had moved on from completely mourning her brother's death didn't mean that she had forgotten him.

Hana could remember how Orihime was right after her brother's death and it was similar to how the older girl was after her mother's death. Hana had prayed for her mother any chance she got. She would hardly smile and hardly leave the house.

After a short time, Hana had picked up taking care of her siblings and began becoming cheerful again. She managed Ichigo's schedule, cooked for the family, helped make sure the younger girls were taken care of, and even cleaned around the house. With all the time she spent doing these things, she didn't have time to constantly pray for her mother anymore. That didn't mean that she had forgotten about her.

Hana instead chose to remember her mother through the garden the two had started together. She remembered by telling Karin and Yuzu stories about their mother from times the two couldn't remember. Telling them stories about things that their mother had done for either her or Ichigo. She remembered her by wondering how she would feel about her choices and how proud she would be of all of her children. And, she made sure to tell her younger siblings how proud their mother would be of them so that they remembered her too.

Hana went to open her mouth to speak up, to try and get the hollow's attention and tell him that Orihime had not forgotten him. She hadn't noticed her brother going in for an attack which leads to both being slammed into the wall by the hollows snake-like tail. Ichigo's weight slightly crushed his sister but he pushed himself up to take some of the weight off of her. Hana and Ichigo looked at each other before pushing themselves up more.

The hollow once again grabbed Orihime. "Let's live together like we used to." He ordered.

Hana found time to pull her brother to his feet while the hollow was distracted though neither of them could force themselves to move, especially after the hollow started threatening to kill Orihime when she refused to go with him. His hand squeezed the girl tightly and he roared ferociously at her.

Ichigo moved before his sister could and sliced the hollows tail in order to get its attention. He was more than upset and it was understandable. His eyes glanced down at his older sister who still couldn't bring herself to move in fear of causing harm to Orihime before they moved back to glare at the hollow.

"Do you know why the big brother or sister is born first?" He forced out through clenched teeth. "It's to protect the little brothers and sisters that come after them!" His forced out voice turned into a shout as he chopped off the hollow's hands.

Hana looked at her brother wide-eyed. Yes, she wanted so badly to protect him and their sisters, but she didn't have the power to do so in her own mind. She wanted the power to do so and decided then she would train alongside him. She pushed herself forward and over to Orihime, quickly checking her for any wounds.

The hollow screeched and roared behind her but she simply held onto her friend. Both girls listened to what the hollow had to say but neither moved. He made sure to include how their life had been before, the explanation for why he and Orihime were alone. Hana's heart ached at the story and she could see why he was so protective of his sister but, he was gone now.

Her arms tightened around her friend throughout the story and held her close. Compared to Orihime, Hana had an amazing childhood but wasn't nearly as cheerful as her friend. She began to envy her for that, she was amazingly strong though many people wouldn't see her that way.

Hana had early heart failure as a child, her mother died, and she'd had a heart transplant that somehow didn't go as planned yet her hardships were nothing compared to her friend. She hated to see Orihime frown or cry and was that way with most of her friends and family. Though there was the issue with Orihime hiding her true feeling almost as much as Hana.

There were many ways Hana related to her friend but she wouldn't admit them to anyone but herself.

The hollow demanded the girls' attention as he lunged for them. Hana's hand flew to the sword at her hip, though she didn't really know how to use it she drew it in order to protect Orihime. Her hand shook slightly as she prepared to raise it towards the hollow.

Orihime pushed Hana out of the way, stopping her from swinging her blade and hugging the hollow. The hollow's teeth clamped down on her but she didn't even flinch as her blood dripped on the floor.

Hana gasped and stared in shock. She let this happen. She could have stopped it. She was supposed to protect Orihime from the hollow. She wanted to help, but she failed.

Her breath hitched.

Relax, calm yourself, and listen to your heart if you really want to help.

A whisper in her mind came forth. Hana felt her shoulders relax as she watched the two. The voice was right, she wouldn't be able to help if she didn't calm herself. The blade stayed drawn, ready to strike if it was needed, while she listened to the other siblings.

"I'm sorry brother..." Orihime mumbled. Hana was close behind her, listening closely to every word. "I wanted you to hear... All the fun things that happened at school. The things I like. The people I like..." She continued.

Hana's grip relaxed a bit on the hilt of the sword but she didn't put it away yet. It only took another minute for her to sheath the sword, the hollow moved away and looked at Orihime in shock. This left the girl to fall as she lost consciousness. Hana was quick to catch her and carefully laid her on the floor before looking up at the hollow.

He looked terrified, horrified about what he'd done and Hana knew that he was his previous self at the time. Sounds from around her vanished as she placed a hand on the hollow's masked cheek.

Rukia tended to Orihime's wounds while Ichigo spoke but Hana couldn't hear a word. The hollow's attention was on Ichigo but Hana's hand stayed on him. A faint glow surrounded her hand and then the hollows mask making her brother and Rukia look at them confused.

The mask cracked and crumbled away to reveal the man's face. His eyes widened a bit and he pulled away from the now exhausted girl to check if his mask was really gone. Hana smiled tiredly at him, oblivious to Rukia's shocked look.

That's all Hana could take, her body collapsed to the floor and her eyes closed. Whatever she did, and she wasn't sure what that was, it took all of her energy but it felt right.

"If I stay like this, I'll once again lose myself and go after Orihime." The brother spoke. Hana listened, unable to do much else. "That's why right now, while I have regained a small part of myself... I want to disappear." He finished.

Ichigo tried to protest but Rukia stopped him. "He's correct, once you become a hollow, you will never revert back. Let him disappear." She ordered.

A frown found its way to Hana's face, that didn't seem right to her. Surely there was a way, how else could he have come back this much.

Rukia glanced at her before looking back to Ichigo. "Cutting a hollow is not the same as killing it. It is to wash away their sins. By cutting them with the zanpakutou, their sins are washed away and they can go to the soul society." She explained.

Orihime's brother said his final goodbye to his hardly conscious sister before starting to fade away. His body disintegrating and seeming to float away. Hana's eyes shut shortly after, too tired to keep them open.

The alarm clock beside her bed woke Hana up in the morning, telling her it was time to get ready for school. Just like the night she met Rukia, she did not remember getting to bed. She found her soul back in her body and though she wasn't sure how it happened, she was grateful.

There didn't seem to be any aftereffects of what had happened with her heart either, and she wasn't going to question it much. She was much more interested in how Orihime was doing and in order to find out, she would have to head to school. She quickly prepared for the day and headed down to meet the rest of her family, ready to scarf down her food just to head to school.

Ichigo was just as impatient as his older sister but he was also concerned for her. He kept insisting that their father take a chance to listen to Hana's heart. The siblings argued for a few minutes before both Karin and Yuzu teamed up with Ichigo and got Hana to agree to get a checkup immediately after school. With that, the arguing stopped and everyone headed to school. The oldest two were silent all the way to school, both lost in their own thoughts.

Once arriving at school, the siblings found the other orange-haired girl to be perfectly fine and telling some ridiculous story about how she got a rather large hole in her apartment wall. Hana tried not to giggle at the story and thankfully no one seemed to question where the story came from.

Orihime was somewhat known for telling outrageous stories so it wasn't out of the ordinary for her friends. Tatsuki didn't go against what she said but didn't elaborate on what had happened.

Hana was still smiling in her direction when Rukia tapped on her shoulder. "Hana, do you remember what happened last night?" She asked.

Hana thought for a minute before replying. "Somewhat, I remember my soul somehow leaving my body and I remember going to Orihime's to fight the hollow. That's about it though." She answered.

Rukia nodded a bit to show she was right. "I don't know how your soul left your body and you're still alive but I'll figure it out." She told her.

Hana turned her attention away from Rukia when the teacher entered the classroom and started a lesson.

Hopefully, Orihime's life would return to normal, unlike the Kurosaki siblings' life.

A broken or cut string can mean the end, but it can also mean a new beginning.


	6. The Lost Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are introduced to Chad and Angel who happen to get a very unlucky bird.  
> This chapter was originally posted on Wattpad in November 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter include Violence, blood, bullying, anxiety, vehicle accidents are included as well.

A small group of our sat in a construction site around a small birdcage occupied by a little cockatiel. It was dark but that didn't seem to bother anyone in the group.

Three members of the group were young men while the fourth member was a young woman. She was the smallest member of the group and her place was right next to the largest member. This odd pair was actually siblings. Though one had dark brown hair and the other bright red, which made it hard to tell by looking that they were siblings.

Of course, that tends to happen when one is adopted into a family like she was. She bared no resemblance to her brother at all.

The girl was staring at the cage in the center of their circle with right, sparkly eyes. She was absolutely captivated by the feathered little creature and it was no surprise to her brother since she had always been drawn to birds. This lovely little bird captured her attention and she hardly paid attention to the two boys that were speaking.

"A cursed parakeet!?" The long-haired one screeched.

The short-haired friend nodded to him. "Yeah, I heard all his owners died horrible deaths. So it quickly gets passed around." He explained.

The girl caught this and frowned a little bit at the story. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor little birdie.

"What? And now it's come around to you?" The long-haired friend asked.

The short-haired one nodded yet again. "Yeah, so I'm really scared." He said and picked up the cage to hold it out to the long-haired friend. "You want it, Shigeo?" He offered the bird to him.

"How could I after hearing that?!" Shigeo snapped.

Next, the cage was shoved in the brother's face. The wavy-haired boy hardly reacted to the movement and looked almost blankly at the avian creature.

"What about you, Chad? It's really cute~." The dark-haired boy sang.

Shigeo glared at him while the only girl of the group started to reach out for the cage. She desperately wished to play with the bird and felt bad at seeing it in such a small cage. Surely it wanted to spread its wings and take off.

Her hand froze and all eyes turned upwards as a large, groaning creak was heard over the group. A huge steel beam started to plummet towards them. It threatened serious injury, if not death to anyone who it landed on.

That thought did not matter to Chad as he moved almost too quickly to be seen and used his body to shield the others who were too slow to move out of the way. Though normally a person would be almost fatally injured by this move, Chad was relatively unharmed compared to what could have happened.

His sister moved as quickly as him but in a different way. Her first reaction was to curl into a ball and cover her head. It was an instinctual reaction that happened without her thinking.

The two other boys looked up at Chad.

"You caught a steel beam with your back!!" One cried out.

"Are you alright?!" The other cried out in concern.

The red-haired girl uncovered her head and looked up at her bleeding brother. She always worried about him when he did things like this. She hated seeing him get hurt.

Chad simply looked at the three of them calmly. "It's nothing..." He tried to assure them. If he felt any pain then he did not allow it to show on his face or in his voice.

"But you're bleeding!" His sister cried.

He stayed calm and gave her the same reassuring look he always did when she was worried.

She went to speak and try to convince him that he was injured but another voice cut her off. "Thanks for saving me. My name is Yuuichi Shibata. What's your name, Mister?"

All eyes turned to the bird whose cage sat unharmed next to the girl, he had spoken in a clearer voice than most of the group ever expected to hear from a bird.

"Sado Yasutora..." Chad answered with his real name instead of his nickname. This only served to shock the other two boys even more. "I'm 15..." He said.

The girl uncurled from her ball and carefully picked up the cage to look at the bird with awe. "You sound so cute..." She said quietly.

Yuuichi turned his attention to her and cocked his head to the side a bit. "What's your name, Miss?" He asked.

The girl smiled softly. "My name is Angel Yasutora, I'm also 15." She answered.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch began normally for Rukia and the Kurosaki siblings. They ate on the roof which was normal for the siblings and occasionally their friends.

Ichigo rubbed his forehead. "Damn, those wounds sure healed up cleanly." He muttered.

The wounds he was referring to happened to be caused by Orihime's hollowfied brother.

Hana glanced at Ichigo before continuing to eat her lunch. She still hadn't spoken much about what happened before her soul left her body, and she didn't really plan to. That experience was not exactly something that could be easily explained to people who had never experienced it before.

Rukia smiled smugly to herself and paused eating. "You're still surprised? What did you expect? My demon arts grades were top of the class. Healing wounds like that is nothing." She explained.

The siblings both looked at her in shock. Ichigo spoke up before Hana could though. "Grades? There's a soul reaper school?" He questioned.

Hana watched the dark-haired girl closely as she waited for an answer that the almost didn't get. Rukia was too busy trying to open a juice box. "Hm? Well, it's something like a school." She finally answered and turned to the siblings holding out the juice box. "Anyway, how do I drink this?" She asked.

Ichigo was more than surprised at the question. "Obviously you stick the straw in." He told her.

Rukia still didn't quite get it and questioned him again. "Straw?" She asked.

Hana smiled and put her food down so that she could help Rukia. "Here, I'll help." She told her.

Rukia handed the box over and watched intently as Hana showed her how to open it. "There you go." Hana chirped and handed the box back to her. Rukia nodded in thanks and examined the box.

"What's this?" Mizuiro chimed in causing the siblings to look at him. "You guys are all together again. You all sure get along well." He said.

"Mizuiro," Ichigo said and nodded a bit to greet him. Though his calm demeanor was gone the next minute. "Dumbass, does this look like we get along well?" He snapped and pointed at Rukia who wasn't paying attention.

Hana was still smiling at their soul reaper friend and allowing her to examine the box on her own to understand it wholly.

Mizuiro took a seat next to Ichigo. "You don't? Well, if you say so. I mean Hana and Rukia obviously get along." He gestured to the girls, neither of which were paying attention to him.

Ichigo huffed a bit but didn't say anything. Hana did get along with Rukia and he couldn't deny it.

"But Ichigo," Mizuiro spoke up again, "shouldn't you think about the impression you're giving to those around you?" He asked.

Ichigo's brows furrowed and he turned away. "Stupid. If I worried about what others thought, I'd have dyed my hair black long ago." He grumbled.

Mizuiro smiled at him. "That's true." He said and turned his attention to the girls. "Hello, Rukia! Hello, Hana." He greeted the two.

Rukia stopped examining her juice box and looked at the dark-haired boy. "Hello um... Mizuiro?" She questioned, unsure of whether or not she got it right.

Hana smiled and waved at him while he grinned about Rukia remembering his name. "Bingo! You remembered, even though we haven't been properly introduced." He said. "I'm Mizuiro Kojima, age 15! My hobby is-" His introduction was cut off by Ichigo.

"Womanizing." The orange-haired boy filled in.

Hana giggled a bit as Mizuiro jumped in shock and appeared to be appalled at the thought. "Huh?! N-no it isn't. You're horrible!!" Mizuiro cried.

"He's all over the women. Watch out." Ichigo said plainly.

Hana was still giggling.

"Stop it, you're ruining my reputation. I'm only interested in older girls! All girls my age are safe!" Mizuiro huffed.

Hana now covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud at her brother's friend.

Ichigo looked at her for a second before looking back ahead of him. "That's why I told her to watch out." He said.

Mizuiro was obviously confused. He had no idea that Rukia was, in fact, much older than both the boys and Hana. Probably older than all three of them combined.

It was brushed off shortly before another of Ichigo's friends joined the group. Keigo joined the group with a smile before giving the number of people a look over. "Huh? Chad and Angel aren't here?" He asked.

Hana looked at the boys and then to the extra lunch beside her. She always made the red-haired girl lunch. It had started shortly after the two met and Hana had simply adopted her as a sister. There was a bit of a pattern with her adopting people as part of her family.

"I haven't seen them," Mizuiro answered their brown-haired friend.

"That's weird, where'd they go?" Keigo asked another question.

Hana frowned and picked up Angel's lunch. She was now lost in her own thoughts and ignoring the other four.

She worried about Angel often. The small girl had at least moderate social anxiety and pretty severe separation anxiety. Of course, that meant that it was understandable for her to not be here when her brother wasn't. Maybe she shouldn't worry so much but couldn't help it.

She often wondered if Angel's separation anxiety came from being abandoned by whatever biological family had left her on her grandfather's doorstep. She hadn't kept it secret from Hana that she was adopted into Chad's family when she was small. Though it would probably have been obvious by appearances anyway.

Hana pulled herself from her thoughts and looked At Keigo who was saluting and yelling at Rukia. "I'm Keigo!! Welcome to this place of men!!" He shouted.

Hana cleared her throat at that statement. She was trying to catch his attention to make him realize that she was almost always with the group so this wasn't just a place of men. Keigo ignored her and kept yelling at Rukia who returned the favor by ignoring him in favor of her juice box.

Keigo was kneed in the back and almost ended up falling flat on Hana, she luckily caught him. She glared at the boys who did it.

"Yo Kurosaki." The tallest one sneered.

Keigo stood on his own feet as quickly as he could and looked at the two boys nervously. "O-Ooshima... Thy lifted your suspension..." He mumbled.

"I'm not talking to you." Ooshima coldly dismissed Keigo and shoved him to the side.

Hana sighed a bit at the bullies. She could already see where this was going and it was going to lead to her brother ending up in a fight. Though this time it was on school grounds and he could get suspended unless Ooshima threw the first punch and all witnesses conveyed that when speaking to the principal.

"Hey Kurosaki, when are you going to dye your hair? With that bleached hair and drooping eyes, you're copying me." Ooshima snarled.

Hana rolled her eyes. Ichigo couldn't be copying him since Ichigo was born with his hair color and eye shape. In that way, Ooshima was actually the one copying Ichigo.

Ichigo glared at the two. "Shut up. How many times do I have to tell you, this is my natural hair color. I mean you would think you would catch onto that considering my sister has the same hair color." Ichigo started off. He was angry but at the same time, he was calm.

"And I ain't copying you. Do something about your own hair you chicken head. Lay any eggs lately?" Ichigo taunted.

Hana giggled a bit at that but hid it behind her hand. If Ooshima were to spot her laughing then it would more than likely make things worse.

Ooshima sputtered for a second before finally snapping at Ichigo. "You bastard!" He snarled.

Keigo slid between the two boys and Hana glanced at Rukia who was still examining her juice box to see if she was actually still not paying attention.

Ichigo continued taunting Ooshima and Hana sighed loudly. She was perfectly correct about this leading to more and more trouble.

Keigo was still trying to settle things down but he wasn't helping much at all. If anything it was possible that he was making things worse.

"Heh... As I thought... I knew one day I'd have to settle things with you for good." Ooshima said. This caused Hana to become more alert to what he was saying. "This is perfect. Right here, right now. I'm going to kick your arse!!" He shouted as he pulled out a set of iron knuckles from inside of his uniform jacket.

At this point, Hana stood and stepped in front of her brother with her hands on her hips. She stared down Ooshima with no fear even though she was a bit nervous. She was going to do what she could to protect her brother. "What the hell do you think you're going to do with those?!" She snapped and continued her stare down.

Ooshima laughed at the appearance. "Why do you care? What're you going to do about it?" He teased her.

Hana's expression didn't change even though she knew that she lacked not only fighting experience but that she was supposed to be taking it easy due to what had happened when her soul and body had separated.

"Hana, sit back down!" Ichigo snapped at her. She ignored him and gained a small smile as she noticed a figure come up behind the threatening boy. This would be over soon and more than likely only one person would end up getting hurt.

Ichigo was too busy trying to get Hana to listen to him to notice the same thing she had.

The next minute the piercing covered boy was launched through the air away from Ichigo, Hana, and Keigo.

"This is why I told you not to do this!" Ooshima's friend yelled and ran to help him up before they both took off.

Hana grinned and patted her brother's shoulder. "I knew it would be okay! Thank you, Chad!" She chirped before waving at the red-headed girl behind him.

Chad nodded a bit and walked up to Keigo. Hana passed him and hugged Angel. "I worried about you, you know." She said gently.

Angel looked down, her hair covering the bandage on her cheek. She hated making people worry about her.

Hana noticed her downcast gaze and let the corners of her lips tug down into a gentle frown. She tilted her friend's chin up to look at her, briefly taking notice of the bandage. "What's wrong? What happened to your cheek?" She asked.

Angel didn't get a chance to answer before Hana caught the end of Chad's conversation with the boys about the steel beam that had fallen on them the night before.

Hana stared at the tall boy wide-eyed. Angel bit her lip and spoke up after that, catching everyone's attention. "His hand is from when we went to buy bread this morning, that's where the bandage on my cheek is from too. A motorcycle came racing towards me and he pushed me out of the way before it could hit me but he got hurt." She explained the hand and cheek injuries and sniffled a bit.

Hana kept her arms around Angel while Ichigo yelled at Chad. "What the hell were you doing?!" He snapped.

Hana glared a bit at him. "Ichigo don't yell at him." She scolded.

Chad didn't seem to mind the yelling that Ichigo did. "The guy on the motorcycle was seriously injured so I took him to the hospital and Angel followed." He explained.

"S-so that's why you two were late..." Keigo mumbled.

"But what kind of body do you have there?" Ichigo mumbled.

Hana just smiled. "It was very sweet of you to help him, Chad." She grinned. He nodded a small bit to her. She then turned to Angel. "Oh Angel, I have your lunch if you're hungry." Hana offered.

The younger girl nodded a bit in response. "I am, thank you, Hana." Angel smiled.

Hana let go of her and went to grab the lunch that she'd made for Angel. The two girls sat next to each other while Angel started to eat.

At this point, Chad placed the birdcage that had been behind his back on the floor between everyone. Angel smiled and scooted a bit closer to it.

"Oh? What's with the bird?" Keigo asked.

"Chad didn't have to answer since the bird answered for him. "Hello! My name is Yuuichi Shibata! What are your names?" The bird asked.

Ichigo stared at the bird in shock and Hana gave a little gasp of shock.

"Oh wow! He speaks so well! My name is Keigo Asano! Say it? Keigo!" Ichigo's smaller, brown-haired friend encouraged the bird.

Rukia paid the group no mind, still engrossed in her juice box.

"Chad, where'd you get the parakeet?" Ichigo asked.

Hana looked at him and rose an eyebrow. "Not to interrupt, but I believe he's a cockatiel, not a parakeet." She spoke up. Angel nodded in agreement with her.

Chad glanced at the orange-haired siblings for a second before speaking. "Yesterday... I got it..." Was all he said.

Both Angel and Hana sighed a bit.

Keigo pointed at him. "Hey! You quit the explanation because it was too much work, didn't you?! That's a bad habit! Tell us!" He yelled.

"I did not." Chad drawled.

Angel just smiled a bit and started feeding Yuuichi from her lunch, being careful to avoid any foods that were dangerous to birds. She'd made sure to do her research about birds and what was safe for them to eat and what all nutrition they needed when she was small. Since she had always wanted a pet bird it was natural.

Hana smiled at her and scooted closer to them. "He's a very lovely bird." She said.

Angel nodded and smiled more. "He is and he's a very expensive kind as well." She said.

Hana knew of her friend's love for avian creatures and was happy to see her interact with one of her favorite animals. There was a bit of worry behind her happiness though. There was something off about Yuuichi, she could feel it. There didn't seem to be anything malicious about the presence though.

She glanced at her brother as a way of asking if he noticed the same thing as her. He nodded at her. She gave a short nod back before returning her attention to Angel who hadn't noticed that her attention had deviated.

"Angel, would you want to help in my garden today?" She asked.

Angel looked up at Chad much like Hana had looked at Ichigo a moment ago though she was seeming to ask for permission. He gave her a silent, yes making her smile widen even more. "Sure! Can you teach me more about cooking too?" She asked Hana.

Hana giggled and nodded, gently patting Angel's hair so that she didn't mess it up. "Of course I will. I have some new recipes I've been wanting to try so we can learn together." She said.

Both girls smiled at each other and continued to discuss their plans for after school until the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. They were a bit lucky that they had many classes together and continued to stick close to each other throughout the day. It was something both were comfortable with.

Once the final bell rang for the day, the two girls wished Chad a safe trip home and headed on their way, trailing behind Ichigo. Ichigo was letting the two girls have their space but at the same time staying relatively close.

"Did you sleep any better last night?" Hana asked Angel.

Angel shook her head and fiddled with the hem of her uniform jacket. "No, I had another dream..." She mumbled. Talking about her dreams almost always made her a bit nervous but Hana was always there for her to talk to when she needed it.

Being a girl there were things that Angel could talk to Hana about that she couldn't talk to her own brother about and that was natural. Hana was more than happy to be there when her friend needed her. She had grown to be this way as she grew up with her younger siblings and was proud to be this way for people who needed her to be.

The issue with the dreams had come up shortly after Angel and Hana met. The dreams were something that had been happening for as long as the redhead could remember. The dreams often caused her to wake up in the middle of the night. The dreams were different night to night and Angel was unable to remember the faces of the players on stage in her dreams. She was only really able to vaguely recall some of the events in her dreams.

Hana nodded a bit in response. She could completely understand since Angel had explained everything to her. She had offered to help her rest peacefully and had been working on it ever since.

The two had succeeded in making it easier for Angel to fall back asleep after the dreams woke her up. Keeping chamomile and lavender plants in her room was the solution for that and had done wonders for the redhead.

Hana had grown the plants and even put them in decorative pots for her to keep in her room. She told Angel everything she needed to know about taking care of those specific plants and help them flourish.

Angel continued to speak with Angel, telling her about the dream from the night before. At least the parts that she could remember. "It was the one where I fell down again..." She started. "I had skinned my knee and was crying but someone ran over to help me up... They checked on my knee and even kissed it before yelling out to someone else." She said.

Hana nodded to show that she was listening. This was a dream that Angel had before and had told Hana multiple times about it. It was always the same. She knew someone ran up to kiss her wounded knee though she couldn't really see anything about the young person who did. She also never knew who the person was calling for to help. Angel knew that in the dream she was a small child, much smaller than her memories spanned over.

The girls ended their conversation as the trio reached the Kurosaki home and clinic and headed inside. The girls did so in order to put their school things away in Hana's room.

The three were stopped by a smaller, orange-haired girl running towards them. "Ichigo, Hana, Angel! Move out of the way!!" Yuzu ordered and rushed past the three. She was dressed in her nurse's uniform and carrying a box of medical surprise.

Hana froze, that reaction meant that something big had happened.

"What's with the rush Yuzu?" Ichigo asked.

He didn't get an answer from the fair-haired of the twins and not a minute later Hana had to pull both Angel and Ichigo against the wall as Karin rushed past them with an occupied hospital bed. She was also wearing a nurse's uniform that matched the one Yuzu was wearing.

"What's going on here?!" Ichigo yelled.

Hana was already pulling all of her hair up into a ponytail and rushing to Yuzu's side at the front door.

"An accident!! There was an accident at the intersection!!" Yuzu answered her brother frantically.

Hana looked back at the two she left on the wall. "Angel, stay with Ichigo okay? Sorry, but we'll have to wait to work on cooking!" She called to her.

Angel nodded a bit nervously and followed Ichigo. She flinched slightly at the Kurosaki father's yelling at someone over the phone.

Meanwhile, Hana was helping Yuzu find victims. They quickly came to a face that Hana recognized. She gasped out in horror. "Yuzu! I'm going to need help getting this one in!" She yelled and started doing her best to get the victim's arm over her shoulder.

Yuzu ran over to help lift this person's large body from the ground. The two were having so much trouble due to the size difference between them and the victim but they refused to give up. They kept doing their best to move the hardly conscious boy.

"Don't worry Chad... We'll get you inside." Hana grunted out, clenching her teeth from the effort of moving him.

The two finally managed to move Chad inside the clinic doors and Hana immediately called for help. "Dad! We need help!!" She yelled.

Isshin came running and took Yuzu's place at Chad's right. "Ichigo! Come help carry him!" He called to his son.

Hana was trembling not only from the effort but from her heart beginning to flutter like it had the other night. Her breath started coming out in short gasps.

Ichigo rounded the corner and froze much like Hana had when she spotted Chad. "Chad...?!" He gasped out.

Chad lifted his head a bit. "Ichigo....?" He mumbled.

Ichigo took Hana's place allowing her to take possession of Yuuichi's birdcage and slide down to a sitting position against the wall. Yuuichi was perfectly fine and there wasn't even a dent in his cage.

Hana got a horrible feeling in her gut but knew it wasn't coming from the little bird. That feeling was very familiar even though it was more of an after-effect. But there was no mistaking that feeling, the leftover presence of a hollow.

Hana kept the bird while the others took care of Chad, she had to stay away from him for a bit in order for her heart to go back to normal. She had begun to notice a pattern, being around anything to do with a hollow made her heart react.

Once Chad was taken care of and her heart was back to normal, Hana placed Yuuichi's cage on the stand next to Chad's bed. "Goodnight Yuuichi, keep an eye on him." She whispered. Yuuichi's head nodded a bit and she left the two before her heart could start acting up again.

Hana's next priority was breaking the news to Angel. She didn't know how to do it.

The redhead had gone up to Hana's room in an attempt to remain calm and separated from the hectic mess downstairs. "Is everyone alright?" She asked Hana when she entered the room.

Hana gave a small nod. "Yes, it seems like everyone will be fine but Angel..." She trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Angel waited for what she had to say. The expression on Hana's face giving it away that the older girl was nervous which made her even more nervous.

"Angel... Chad is downstairs. He's doing okay but he got hurt and lost some blood." She said as calmly as she could.

Angel's eyes widened and started to fill with tears so Hana hugged her tightly.

Hana continued to hug her friend until the smaller girl fell into an uneasy sleep. She'd already figured that it would be best for Angel to stay with them for the night since there was no way she would go home on her own.

"Goodnight Angel, hopefully, tomorrow is much better," Hana whispered.

_A string stretched near to its breaking point is still possible to repair._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to remember to put this stuff in as Rich text and not HTML


	7. The Fraying Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn more about one of the OCs. Enter The Red Demon! Also, here comes the piece of garbage that I'm sure you'll quickly understand my dislike for through my writing of them. The arc with the poor unlucky bird is still going on.  
> This chapter was originally posted on Wattpad in December 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains violence, anxiety, manipulation, and mentioned self-harming behaviors.

Inside a small home stood its only occupant, though she wasn't standing so much as rushing towards a window to open it. Once it opened, fresh air flooded into the smoky kitchen, and smoke started to roll out letting the air start to clear. The smoke had started to accumulate from the woman's attempt at cooking. She almost couldn't believe she'd allowed the smoke to fill the room to the point that it did.

Normally, she was better at cooking and only slightly burned whatever she made due to her personal preference but, this time, she hadn't been paying attention to what she was doing at all. The recent hollow appearances and the spikes of spiritual pressure that popped up all over town were distracting her. She had figured that it would go away but it only seemed to get worse.

She ran a hand through her red hair that seemed to shimmer with hints of orange and yellow causing it to always appear that a flame was flickering around her. With a sigh of frustration, she decided that she would give up on cooking for the time being. Besides, she didn't plan no ruining her breakfast and didn't have much else to cook other than her lunch so there was no point in trying to. She sighed and headed for the living room.

"Whatever you're making smells horrible." A voice from her couch deadpanned. The man sitting there looking at her with dark eyes, a small smirk resting on his lips.

The woman immediately went into a fighting stance, ready to defend herself but dropped the stance once she realized who it was sitting so leisurely on her couch. She should have realized it would be him. He was one of the only people to ever enter her home without bothering to alert her in the past few decades that she'd resided in the world of the living.

No matter how much she would have liked to break his face, maybe snap his neck as well, she was nowhere near strong enough to harm this man. It would end horribly, not only for her, if she attempted to attack this man. The man was powerful, there was no denying that. No one knew where he was at the moment, which was due to his partner in crime covering his absence and the fact that he was somehow completely hiding his spiritual pressure.

"Holy fuck!! Why the hell do you keep doing this?!" The woman snapped. The sight of this man only ever meant bad news and served to make her angry.

The man stood and sauntered over to the woman. "You should be careful about your cursing, you might offend someone." He told her. His voice held a charming tone but the woman ignored it.

She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at the man. "Since when have I given a damn about offending anyone?" She snapped.

The smooth smile that the man had worn when sauntering over to the woman dropped and he gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his now menacing gaze. The woman didn't drop her harsh glare, she refused to back down.

"You should really watch your tone to me. Remember that I have easy access to _them_. Do I have to demonstrate that _again_?" The man threatened.

The woman's crimson eyes widened in horror at his threat. Though it had been used against her many times this was always her reaction. "I've done everything you've asked of me! Who cares if I back talk you?!" She cried out. "You swore you wouldn't hurt them... As long as I did what you say... You proved that you would follow through so why would I disobey you...?" She trailed off and grit her teeth. Her once fierce gaze softened and fell to the floor.

The man smirked again. "That's better." He all but purred. "Now that we've sorted that out, I have a new assignment for you." His tone turned serious and stern again. He had her where he wanted her.

The woman didn't look back up at him, refusing to meet his eyes despite his firm hold on her chin. "What is it this time?" She asked.

The man finally let go of her chin to pull a photo out of his uniform. "I want you to keep an eye on this girl and any companions she may have." He ordered.

The woman looked at the picture of the dark-haired soul reaper girl and almost immediately recognized her as the girl she'd seen at the park with the orange-haired girl and boy. "And you want me to report to you as normal?" She asked.

The man nodded. "I'll be seeing you soon." He said and then left the woman's home.

As soon as he was gone the woman scowled and rubbed at the skin on her chin harshly using the hand that didn't have a photo in it. It was as if she was trying to rub away any trace of that man from her skin, and that wasn't far from the truth. She loathed that man's existence, she was disgusted anytime he came near her. It was to the point where she almost got physically sick whenever he touched her.

She unconsciously let the hand rubbing her chin heat up as if to burn the feeling of that man from her skin. She was lucky to realize what she was doing and pulled her hand away before she could burn herself. It had happened before after the man's visits and it was such a pain for her to heal herself. She wasn't a master in healing kido, in fact, she had struggled to learn the basics of it.

As much as she hated doing what he told her to do, she had no choice. That man had access to people very close to her and she wasn't about to let him harm another one.

By holding those people and their lives over her, that man had managed to break the spirit of the Soul Society's Red Demon.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Morning at the Kurosaki household started early. Angel, Hana, and Yuzu all woke up early to start making breakfast.

Hana kept humming and doing anything she could to keep Angel from thinking too much about her injured brother. Even going as far as to make a big scene about having each of them pick an apron that they liked, surely that caused a bit of a distraction. Yuzu had picked a black apron accented with black and white checkered ribbon with ruffles and bows on the pockets and top of the apron. Hana picked her favorite green apron printed with red roses. Angel had picked a Christmas themed apron from the drawer. It was sky blue and covered with white snowflakes that sparkled.

After picking out their aprons, Hana and Angel tied their hair up out of the way. Yuzu didn't have to because of how short her hair was and was already done getting the dishes needed to make breakfast by the time the older girls had finished with their hair.

The three worked hard on breakfast but found themselves having fun at the same time. Angel and Yuzu had ended up needing to wash their faces after Hana had taken an opportunity to smear a bit of flower on each of them. All that she did seemed to work and distracted Angel from thoughts about her brother and before the three knew it, breakfast was finished and ready to serve.

When the news on the T.V. started talking about the wreck that Chad had ended up involved in, Hana immediately turned it off. She did not need Angel having an anxiety attack about what happened to her brother right before school. No one questioned her when she shut off the T.V. and she was more than fine with that.

Ichigo came down to eat when he was called but looked in confusion at the number of place settings, which was one less than he expected to see. "What about Karin?" He asked.

Hana looked up at him from placing some napkins on the table. "She said she wasn't hungry. I don' think she's feeling too well." She said. Honestly, she was worried about her dark-haired sister. Karin rarely got sick and it could be a big deal when she did get sick.

Ichigo looked at the oldest sister. "That's rare..." He mumbled.

Hana nodded but jumped a minute later when their father ran in screaming.

"Bad news!! Chad has disappeared from his hospital room!" Isshin yelled.

Angel froze and stared at the man horrified. Her brother was injured badly and now was missing.

Hana put her hand on Angel's shoulder for a minute before quickly standing to put both her and Angel's plates away. "Alright, Ichigo you head to school to see if he shows up there," Hana ordered her little brother.

Ichigo nodded sternly in response, when Hana started giving out orders like this then she meant business.

Hana turned back to Angel. "We're going to go to the hospitals and other clinics around town and see if he's turned up in one of them." She told her.

Angel nodded nervously and fidgeted with her hands. It was obvious that her anxiety was starting to rise, a situation that Hana had been trying to avoid but now couldn't.

Yuzu stuck her hand up in the air. "What do I do?" She asked.

Hana pats Yuzu's hair carefully so that she wouldn't mess up her sister's hair. "You get ready and go to school. Look after Karin okay?" She said and gave her a small smile.

Yuzu gave a determined nod and all but saluted her older sister. "Yes, ma'am!" She shouted.

With that everyone went in their planned directions.

Ichigo met up with Rukia on the way. Rukia finally found a chance to speak to Ichigo about what she'd noticed yesterday. "Who was that red-haired girl?" She asked.

Ichigo almost didn't pay attention to her, giving her a glare as he kept rushing towards the school. "Why does that matter now?! Chad is missing!" He snapped at her.

Rukia glared back at him. "Just answer me!" She snapped back.

Ichigo all but growled. "She's Chad's little sister, Angel." He told her.

Rukia looked at him. "Sister? They don't look anything alike." She continued to press on. She wasn't going to give up until she got all the answers that she wanted about Angel.

Ichigo was annoyed with the questions but figured that she wouldn't let this go and it would be easier to just answer her now. "Yeah no shit, she's adopted. We don't know anything about her biological family." He told her before rushing through the doors of the school.

Rukia had stopped in front of the doors and went into thought. That girl had the same name and same appearance but gave off the same amount of spiritual pressure as a normal human.

But if it was really her, then why was she here?

Rukia's eyebrows scrunched together in thought. Maybe she was wrong about who Angel really was, but what were the chances of that?

­­+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hana and Angel were just getting around to checking the clinics and hospitals around Karakura town. Whenever they happened to wander close to where Chad would sometimes hang out, they would check those areas as well.

So far, the duo wasn't having any luck and it disheartened Angel even more than she already was. "Why would he just leave like that?" Angel mumbled.

Hana linked her arm around Angel's. "Well, I mean he's usually like this right?" She asked.

Angel nodded. "Yes... He doesn't really like to accept help for himself but he doesn't hesitate to get help for me." She said and looked at her feet.

Hanna nodded a bit despite knowing that Angel wouldn't see it. "You two are similar in that way." She said.

Angel looked up at her confused. "What do you mean?" She questioned the older girl.

Hana smiled a bit at her. "Well, you don't tend to ask for help because you don't want to bother people. You also tend to try and refuse the help of anyone who offers it to you." She explained.

Angel's cheeks turned a little pink and she gave a small nod. She didn't even try to deny that Hana was right until she remembered her dream. "But, in my dreams, someone is always helping me. I'm always being taken care of if something happens." She said.

Hana looked at her again. "Well, maybe that's how you were before you were adopted and due to the amnesia surrounding your past before then, you picked up Chad's habits instead of your old ones." The older girl suggested.

The younger sighed and dropped the subject for now as the two made their way through the doors of a clinic.

The receptionist at the front desk looked up at the two from the crossword puzzle she'd been doing before the two girls walked in. "How can I help you?" She asked with a friendly smile.

Angel gulped a bit but took charge and spoke up first. "H-have you seen m-my brother?" She asked timidly. Hana gave her a reassuring smile.

The receptionist shifted forward in her seat. "I'm sorry, could you give me some information about him so I can be sure if I've seen him or not?" She requested.

Hana took over speaking for her friend. "He's a really tall, kind of heavily built guy. He has wavy brown hair and tan skin." She started explaining. After a second she stopped and tried to think of more to tell the woman. "Oh! He would have an injury to his hand and a fairly large injury to his upper back. He would also be carrying around a birdcage." She clarified.

The receptionist gave Hana an odd look when she brought up the birdcage but didn't say anything about it. Her smile turned into a small frown. I'm sorry girls. No one like that has come in." She said.

Angel frowned and bit the inside of her bottom lip. Her brother wasn't here.

Hana gave her a pat on the back before turning her attention back to the receptionist. "It's okay if he's not here maybe he's doing well. Thank you for your time, Miss." She thanked and bowed her head a bit before the two started leaving.

"Okay, so there's at least one more clinic we can check so-" Hana was cut off when two figures rushed by them and she knew exactly who they were. There was no mistaking her brother's hair color. Rukia was right on his tail.

Hana grabbed Angel's wrist and took off after her brother and the soul reaper. "Ichigo, Rukia, wait!!" She yelled at them.

The girls were given a glance but the other two kept running. Hana could feel the familiar tightening in her chest but ignored it. Surely it was from running.

It wasn't long before she realized that she was wrong about the reason. A crash from a warehouse ahead of the group caused them to push forward harder.

Angel's eyes lit up a bit as she recognized the figure stepping out of the building. "Brother!!" She called out to him.

Chad turned his attention to the four and stared at them for a minute in what seemed to be horror before taking off and running away from them. Ange's relief was washed away by that act.

Ichigo growled a bit in anger. "Idiot! Why are you running away?! It's dangerous by yourself!!" He screeched at the taller boy.

The group would have given chase again if not for a weak sounding voice that made the Kurosaki siblings freeze. "Ichigo...." The voice rasped out.

All turned to see Karin, hardly supporting herself by leaning on a pole. Both Ichigo and Hana rushed over to her when she attempted to take a step but collapsed instead.

Ichigo supported her while Hana checked for a fever. Angel didn't move, she wasn't sure if she should help check on Karin or keep going after her brother.

Rukia looked at the redhead for a second before turning away from all of them. "You all should take her home! I'll follow him!" She ordered.

The three looked at her shocked. What did she mean by that?

Hana frowned a bit but didn't speak, she instead wiped the sweat away from her sister's forehead.

Ichigo shifted Karin's weight over to Hana. "What are you talking about? You can't-" He wasn't allowed to finish speaking before Rukia interrupted him.

"Don't complain!!" Rukia snapped. Her harsh tone caused Angel to flinch. Rukia didn't pay her any mind. "It would be a problem for us if she were left here. She would distract your mind from the fight!!" She continued.

Hana clenched her teeth. "Ichigo, take her and go. You can run faster than me and get her home and get back long before I could." She spoke up. Ichigo stared at her shocked but Hana didn't give him another chance to speak. "Go, I'll help Rukia find Chad and distract that hollow." She ordered.

Angel furrowed her brows a bit at what Hana had said. She wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about, all she knew was that she wanted to help them find Chad.

Ichigo looked at Rukia then Hana, then back to Rukia. "Your powers to fight hollows still haven't returned, have they?" He asked, though as his sister had done to him, he didn't allow her time to answer. "Don't push yourselves too hard!" He snapped at the girls.

Angel glanced in the direction her brother had run off then back to her friends. She wasn't strong, but there was surely something she could do to help. This was about her brother after all. Her eyes drifted to the ground and she started to chew on her lip again.

Chad was her brother and always helped her, now it seemed like he was the one who could use some help.

Hana grabbed her attention as they went running the same direction as Chad had. She had actually assumed that Angel would follow Ichigo home but that wasn't the case. Angel steeled her nerves and went to follow Rukia and Hana. She was going to do whatever she could to help.

Karin speaking up again caused the three girls to freeze and it seemed to have stopped Ichigo's running as well. "I saw it... The memories from the child inside the cockatiel yesterday..." She started.

Hana felt her heart start to sink a bit. Just by the tone of Karin's voice, she could tell this wasn't good. The way her voice sounded didn't help either. It was so distressed and almost broken sounding.

"I think it was because I'm closest in age to him..." Karin continued. "The strongest memory that was left in his heart flowed into me..." Her voice wavered more and more as she spoke.

"Right in front of that kid's eyes... He saw his mother murdered right before his eyes!!" Karin yelled.

Hana felt tears start to build up in her eyes. Nausea settled into the pit of her stomach and she began to shake.

Angel was no better. Memories buried deep in her mind tried to surface but something stopped them. She wasn't ready to remember those things yet. A headache formed from the fight the memories were putting up and she shook her head in an attempt to shake it away. It seemed to work for now and the memories stopped trying to fight their way to the surface.

The three girls looked at each other once more before taking off again. Rukia didn't object to Angel coming along despite her lack of spiritual pressure simply out of curiosity to see if this really was who she thought it was.

Angel didn't see the look the soul reaper had given her, she was now too focused on trying to find Chad. She did her best to push her fear and anxiety away so that she could do what she had to. "We're coming to help, Chad." She said mostly to herself.

_Some may search for the beginning of a fraying thread, simply to tear it apart._


	8. Finding Our Threads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More from the Red Demon's perspective, Chad fight's a hollow, Hana discovers something new.   
> This chapter was originally posted on Wattpad in December 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the point I started adding warnings to the story.   
> Warnings: Implied sexual abuse, examples of emotional manipulation, anxiety, and mental breakdowns.

The flame-haired woman did as she had been told. She exited her gigai and pulled the hood over her head. That hood had actually saved her in the first few of her years as a traitorous spy. At that time she wasn't the best at avoiding the paths of soul reapers.

She'd been angry and often fought hollows to let off steam, not thinking about the fact that she would more than likely run into soul reapers if she went looking for hollows. The hood had kept her from being recognized by the soul reapers that she ran into.

After making sure her hair was mostly, if not completely hidden, she headed out.

The sooner she found the soul reaper she'd been asked to, the better. The sooner this got done, the sooner she could be done dealing with her so-called boss.

Taking the information to him was just another form of torture to her. To enter the area where she once lived, to see people who had and still ridiculed her was bad enough, but seeing those that her so-called boss held over her was one of the worst things.

To see what they had accomplished, the amazing things that they had done, and not be able to tell them how proud of them she was. To not be able to hug them, kiss their heads, and tell them how much she loved them. That was the torture she hated the most.

But she couldn't tell them. They thought she was dead and currently she couldn't do anything about it without risking their lives.

She wouldn't do that, she wasn't so selfish that she would risk those she loved being killed or worse just because she wanted to give them a hug.

She sighed and attempted to clear her head from those thoughts before she headed out.

Moving from shadow to shadow, she looked for the petite soul reaper from the photo. Starting from where she'd first seen the girl, she then headed in the direction of the school since the girl was wearing what she recognized as a school uniform.

She got lucky and found the girl standing in front of the doors to the school seeming deep in thought.

The woman hid deeper in the shadows and kept an eye on the girl. She was obviously posing as a high school student.

It wasn't very long before the orange-haired boy she'd seen at the park ran out of the school building, past the girl, and kept running. The soul reaper hiding in plain sight ran after him.

The woman followed, still keeping to the shadows while keeping her spiritual pressure low enough not to be noticed. This continued as the pair continued running. They even picked up another pair. Two girls, one with orange hair and the other with red.

That red color was so familiar to the woman.

She ignored the sense of familiarity and continued to follow the group. After a short bit, the group started moving faster, trying to catch up to someone in front of them. Then the woman heard a voice that almost made her heart stop.

"Brother!!" The voice called.

The woman had heard that voice so many times before called out to a brother that the woman didn't recognize. That was not the brother she recognized.

She had to be sure this was who she thought so she moved a bit closer to the group and moved around so that she could see the red-headed girl's face. Once she got a good look at her, the woman almost fell to her knees.

It was her, it was exactly who she thought it was. One of the girls that she loved as a daughter. Someone she had been convinced that her boss was holding a thumb over in order to threaten her.

But she wasn't there, she was here! She was with the soul reaper that the woman was supposed to watch and gain information on.

He didn't say anything about Angel being involved so she wasn't going to mention her. If he knew then he would let her know that he did.

He had a habit, or rather a hobby, of testing her. She preferred to think of it as another form of torture. He would plant tasks for her, asking her to gain information for him when he already knew everything he needed and didn't need to know about the situation. If she kept details that he decided were relevant from him then she was punished in one way or another.

The woman covered her mouth and let her legs slip out from underneath her as her body shook with a few silent sobs. She was so relieved to see the girl who was considered her first baby girl. She'd essentially known Angel since she was born and to see her this close in a situation like this was both an amazing and horrible thing.

For a few minutes, the woman simply sat in her spot and let herself cry silently. How much she wanted to wrap her arms around the girl and tell her how much she missed her. How much she worried about her. How much she wanted to truly tell her what had happened.

But she couldn't. She couldn't because of _him._

That thought made her even angrier than she had been with the thoughts before.

This was all his fault.

It took another minute for the woman to pull herself together and turn her attention to the group again. In the time she had taken to pull herself together, the group had separated and taken off.

She sighed a bit in annoyance and stood, taking only another minute to pinpoint the soul reaper girl that she was supposed to be tracking. After that she took off in the direction, finding the three girls and tailing them in secret.

The three girls simply continued running, none of them noticed the tail they had. They were having trouble keeping up with Chad's long strides and pure power.

Hana found it harder to breathe with each step, her chest was starting to tighten as well. It was a sensation that was becoming all too familiar with her. They were getting close to a hollow and her body was going to eject her soul, there was no escaping that fact for her. Though, for Angel's benefit, she didn't say a word about it and continued pushing forward.

It didn't take much longer before the weight on Hana's chest became unbearable and she felt her body crumple to the ground. Her soul was still inside but she was unable to move and in such immense pain that she could hardly breathe.

"Hana!!" Angel yelled and dropped down to try and help the older girl up.

Hana wanted to tell her to leave her alone and keep going but could only gasp out in pain. What a relief it would be if her soul would separate from her body already.

Her eyes moved over to Rukia and she saw something that made her try even harder to yell, to scream, to make any noise. A hollow stood behind Rukia and Hana tried her best to push away from Angel in order to try and get to Rukia or at least get her attention.

Angel sobbed and begged Hana to stop, to try and relax in order to see what would happen, to see if she would go back to normal.

The woman in the shadows watched quietly, her hand hovering near the hilt of her sword despite the fact that she knew she couldn't interfere. Seeing Angel sob like that broke her heart and there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop her crying.

At this point, the woman noticed a few things off about the situation. First, why would the orange-haired girl suddenly collapse like that? Secondly, the dark-haired soul reaper should have already exited her gigai and began fighting the hollow.

It was hard to keep her attention on the dark-haired soul reaper when she could hear Angel sobbing the way she was. Her cries got louder and the woman had to force herself to keep her eyes on the soul reaper.

Angel had started crying harder because Hana's body had stopped moving and gone completely limp as it finally forced her soul out. Hana felt nothing but relief to be free from her body. There was no more pain, no more shortness of breath. Though she did feel bad about hearing Angel cry like that.

She couldn't do anything about it at the moment though, she had to help Rukia. Hana jumped between Rukia and the hollow, taking the hit meant for the other girl. There wasn't much else she could do since she didn't have a weapon of any sort.

Both girls went tumbling to the ground with the hollow looming over them. "Oh goodie, two snacks." The hollow cooed.

Hana felt herself start to shake, what was she supposed to do here? What could she really do to help? She had no weapon. She had some sort of ability but had no idea how to use it yet, she was no help.

Rukia got back on her feet and Hana followed not long after. Neither of the girls noticed Angel watching them with wide eyes.

Angel could see the hollow. She could see Hana's soul separate from the body in her arms. She wasn't sure what was going on and while she was shocked, she couldn't do anything. She couldn't even bring herself to get up and run. It was if her fight and flight responses were conflicting with each other and she couldn't pick one.

The hollow still loomed over Rukia and Hana, "You two didn't die huh? That's really something." It spoke. Its empty eyes stared at the girls. "You two can see me... What in the world are you?" It asked.

Rukia moved before anyone could blink and kneed the hollow in the jaw. Both Hana and Angel stared at her in shock as Rukia flipped herself over onto the hollow's back and began speaking. "Mask of flesh and blood. All living beings, fluttering. That which has the name human!" She yelled and took a quick breath. "Slightly embed your claws into the walls of innocent dreams!" She held her palm out to face the hollow, still standing on the hollows back. "Destructive art 33!! Shakaho!" She shouted.

A large explosion propelled her a bit back away from the hollow which was engulfed in smoke. Hana felt the need to cheer briefly but that need was quickly washed away as the smoke cleared and revealed the hollow still standing without a scratch showing on it. This caused her to step back in fear.

The hollow laughed a bit at the two girls, not at all paying attention to Angel who was still holding Hana's empty shell of a body. That worked out well considering they didn't know what would happen if Angel got involved with the fight.

Rukia was clutching her arm and staring down the hollow in what seemed to be shock.

The hollow seemed to cackle a bit at the two. "I recognize that spell just now... It's soul reaper magic...! Am I right?!" It asked, not wanting to wait for an answer. "But yours is weak... I didn't feel anything!" It growled, seemingly ecstatic about the whole situation.

The woman watching felt herself become even more nervous. Between a weaponless soul and a nearly powerless soul reaper, the entire group was doomed. But she still wasn't allowed to interfere. No matter how much she wanted to do.

The hollow started speaking again. "So you were a soul reaper then... That explains why your scent is so tasty..." It said. "Soul reapers... That brings back good memories. You know, I have eaten two soul reapers who came to send that brat to the afterlife..." It said. "They tasted the best!" It all but yelled at them.

Hana's blood either boiled or froze, she wasn't sure which. The thought that this hollow kept that sweet from passing on deeply disturbed her. There was something about this hollow that was different from the other hollows she had encountered. In the ones she encountered before she could always sense some kind of light, at least a little bit. There was no light in this hollow, it was nothing but an endless ocean of darkness that deeply unsettled her.

Before she could think about it, Hana spoke up. "You mean the boy in the cockatiel?" She asked.

The hollow turned to face her, seemingly amused by her question. "Yup... That's the one." It said and stepped closer. Hana took a step back in fear.

Rukia seemed to notice Hana's fear and grabbed the hollow's attention again. "It seems that you're persistently chasing that boy around... Why?" She asked.

The hollow turned to her and pointed at her. "Who knows...? I'll tell you if you quietly let me eat you..." I attempted to reason.

Hana's blood boil more, now she was positive that it was her blood boiling. Before she could react to it, Rukia was pinned to the wall by the hollow's hand. Hana flinched for a second before running at the hollow and attempting to pry its entire arm away from Rukia.

The hollow laughed and simply watched her with amusement for a minute. "You two are so weak. Are you really soul reapers? Why don't you shed that human shell like your friend did?" The hollow taunted.

Hana didn't stop trying to free Rukia from the hollow's grip. In fact, she completely ignored the hollow other than his arm. She desperately wanted to tell Angel that she didn't have to worry but wasn't going to draw attention to the girl.

She all but crashed into Rukia when the arm fell out from underneath her. All eyes turned to see what had caused it only to see Chad with his fist extended to where the hollow had been standing before.

"Chad!" Both Hana and Angel exclaimed.

Chad just looked at his fist. "Did... I hit him?" He asked himself.

The woman from the shadows stared at the group wide-eyed. Angel should have fought, she knew how to fight. The second part of her shock was the fact that the human boy had just punched a hollow.

The hollow pushed itself while the girls were busy staring at Chad while who was just punching at the air in empty space. "What the heck...? He scared the crap outta me, but it's just a fluke." It chuckles. "I thought that he could see me..." It said.

Chad's fist finally landed another hit on the hollow. "Yeah, I hit him..." He said.

Hana took this as a chance to run over to Angel. When their eyes met Hana was a bit shocked that she could see her but pushed it away. "Angel listen to me, you're going to be okay. I'm going to be okay. Just... Just stay calm and when I say run, you run." She said as gently as she could.

Angel glanced in Chad's direction, seeming to be ready to say something but didn't get to. The hollow took flight making her scream.

This only made the hollow start cackling. "You can't attack me this way!! Right?!! What are you going to do, loser soul reaper?!!" It taunted.

Hana forced her attention away from the hollow and tried to get Angel's attention again. "Angel, it's okay. It won't go after you. It'll worry about me and Rukia the most." She tried to convince her to move, tried to convince her to run away from here.

Angel's body shook from her anxiety and it took her a minute to get her body to move enough to shake her head side to side and try to tell her no. "I-I can't leave y-you and Ch-Chad." She stuttered out.

The older girl put a hand on Angel's shoulder. "Rukia and I will help Chad get away and once the hollow is far enough away, I can get back in my body." She said. Her voice was urgent but she tried to keep it gentle. Being hysteric would only make Angel's anxiety worse and that didn't need to happen.

Angel sniffled and gave a small nod. The tears in the corners of her eyes showed how much she didn't want to leave her friends but she understood. "Don't let anyone get hurt..." She begged her friend.

Hana gave her the most reassuring smile she could manage. "I'll do my best. Now, drop my body and go. Find Ichigo if you can." Her smile wavered as she spoke.

Angel gave another nod, tears now starting to fall down her cheeks. She gently placed Hana's body on the ground and ran in the direction of the Kurosaki home and clinic.

Hana sighed a bit and turned back to the action just in time to see Chad pull a pole out of the ground. She knew he was strong, far stronger than the average person, but that strong?!

Chad looked over his shoulder at Rukia. "So... Which direction?" He asked.

Rukia seemed just as shocked as Hana but answered quickly. "Right there!! Just swing it down!!" She ordered.

Chad swung the pole downward, hitting the hollow dead on and slamming it into the ground with a screech. The force caused the pole to break.

Hana cheered as Chad and Rukia stood over the hollow. She was still unable to enter her body due to the hollow being alive.

Rukia ignored her for the moment and glared down at the hollow. "Give up. A guy is coming soon to get rid of you. Stay still until then." She ordered the hollow.

The hollow once again started laughing which made Hana's smile drop and her eyes narrow. "What's so funny?" She asked.

The hollow kept laughing. "Nothing... I'm wondering if you didn't think about it..." It started. "Why is it that, up until now... I was able to defeat and devour two soul reapers." He said.

Hana paled a bit. That had been a fact that she'd forgotten. A thump of her heart, though there was no real reason for it, caused her to look around. On top of the walls around them were at least a dozen hollows, if not more. The sight alone nearly brought Hana to her knees. She was never happier that she had told Angel to run.

As she thought of that, another thought came to mind.

_What if some hollows followed Angel?_

Instead of boiling, Hana's blood froze and she couldn't move her body for a minute and once she was back in her own mind she became aware that the trio was surrounded. There was no room for her to get out and find Angel to make sure no hollows were on her tail. She just needed a chance to get out.

That chance came when Chad once again began throwing punches. It was almost as if he was in a rage.

Hana took the chance and slipped beneath a hollow before a group of smaller ones could pin her as similar ones had done to Rukia. She felt horrible for leaving Rukia and Chad but they were better off without having to protect her.

She had to make sure Angel got out safely.

The small group that had tried to pin her followed on her heels along with the larger one that she had slipped under. Trying to outrun them was tiring and annoying but she had to do it.

Her thoughts finally went to what had happened the night she and Ichigo had met Rukia. She remembered what had happened with the protea flower. She needed that again.

Hana tried to remember what happened that night that may have caused her surge in strength. She remembered being able to visualize the flower in her mind.

Perhaps that's what she had to do!

With her feet still moving as fast as they could, she tried to visualize the flower again. The exact details took a minute to form but then she had it.

Still, nothing happened.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes in frustration. "Please! Whatever happened before, please let it happen again! I need strength!" She cried out to seemingly no one.

A new thought came to mind. Had she said the name of the flower before?

With that new thought in mind, Hana set back to visualizing the light purple flower again. Once the image became clear again she found herself shouting, "Protea!!"

This time she felt a surge of power. She was able to push herself harder and put more distance between her and the hollows while still looking for Angel. It wasn't long after that she spotted her red-headed friend huddled into a corner and trapped there by a hollow standing in front of her.

As the hollow went to strike, Hana stepped between them, all the while wracking her brain for another flower that could be useful. She was going to try this out again. Even though it may not have been the best moment to be experimenting with her powers.

The first flower to come to mind was a purple-colored cluster. It was a flower very familiar to both her and Angel since they grew a few plants together. "Lavender!!" She cried.

Angel stared in amazement as a translucent wall matching the color of lavender sprung up to protect the two. It was a relief that it provided some protection but it wasn't very strong. It cracked under the first blow from the hollow and the ones following Hana joined in.

Hana's strength had faded and she could only fall back into Angel as the wall shattered, the only thing remaining of it was the smell of lavender in the air.

Hana's weight falling on Angel caused the smaller girl to fall back on her rear, both panting heavily and nearly shaking in both exhaustion and fear.

As they landed, the largest hollow of the group prepared to strike again. Both girls closed their eyes, neither being able to react fast enough to protect themselves. Due to their eyes being closed, they didn't see the bright flash that one of the two produced. The flash momentarily stunned and blinded the surrounding hollows.

_Hana, silence them._

The same whisper of a voice that Hana had heard the night the soul reaper trio had dealt with the appearance of Orihime's hollowfied brother sounded. This time it was much louder and clearer, though still being like a whisper.

_Silence..._

_Silence..._

An image of a flower quickly came to Hana's mind. The same flower that had mysteriously started growing in her garden years ago.

_Belladonna. Belladonna means silence._

Hana found herself swinging her right hand out in an arc towards the hollows and cried out. "Belladonna!!"

Bright violet dust formed around her right hand, shaping and then solidifying into the form of a long sword. The sword had a slight curve of the blade and the wrap on the hilt was the same color as the dust that the sword had formed from.

The blade easily sliced through the smaller hollows, defeating them with no problem at all.

When it came to the largest hollow of the group there was a bit of a problem. The blade only nicked it, causing it to jump back for a minute and roar at Hana in a rage. The hollow roared again and charged towards the two.

Hana thought fast and held the blade straight out in front of her, carefully lining it up with the hollow's mask. The hollow didn't have time to stop once it realized what was going on and impaled itself on the blade.

Hana stared a bit in shock for a minute as the hollow writhed and roared in pain. Angel screamed and clutched onto Hana for her life in the mere moment it took before Hana pulled the blade upward and fully sliced through the hollow's mask. It began to disintegrate leaving the two girls alone.

All the hollows that had followed the two were defeated, though not entirely easy.

Hana couldn't hold herself up at all anymore and fell back against the wall. It was hard to breathe and she felt as if she couldn't move. There was no energy left in her body and she found it hard to keep her eyes open.

Angel moved closer to her and shook her shoulder. "Hana, Hana keep your eyes open." She encouraged her. Her own body was shaking like crazy and she was sick to her stomach but she was trying to make sure Hana was alright.

Neither was sure what exactly had happened but both took the moment to lean back and relax. They needed to rest after that and they almost couldn't find the strength to move.

Hana let her eyes close while Angel leaned against the wall beside her and tried to calm down.

_Finding your own thread can be tough to do, don't give up._


	9. A Mother's Happy Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our Red Demon gets more screen time and you get more info about her past.  
> This chapter was first posted on Wattpad in December 2017

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a warning, this chapter contains mentions of mental and sexual abuse. It also includes mentions of breast milk and using it in cooking for a baby in a situation where bottles, formula and breast pumps would not be available, mentions of birth control, and situations where birth control pills would not have been available.   
> Also, teenage motherhood.

The flame-haired woman, no matter how concerned for Angel she was, could not leave her hiding spot. When the orange-haired girl took off in the same direction as Angel had she silently hoped that it was to look after the red-head. She had already been relieved at the girl's idea to send Angel away. It seemed to her that Angel had made a decent friend in that girl.

It was increasingly obvious to the woman that there was something wrong with Angel.

She knew for a fact that Angel could fight, but she didn't see her do it. To her there was no doubt that it was the same Angel that she'd known, there was no mistaking those eyes. So then the question was, why would Angel not fight when there was a situation that called for it?

The woman forced herself to ignore those thoughts for the moment and focused on the fight in front of her. She was gaining lots of information that her "boss" would want to know.

She had discovered that the soul reaper was unable to fight using her powers, but that didn't stop her from fighting. The woman found it very admirable of her.

She watched as the soul reaper fought her way through a field of what seemed to be explosive parasites just to gain possession of a birdcage.

The dark-haired soul reaper really was an admirable person.

It didn't take long for the woman to figure out that there was the soul of a young boy inside the body of the bird. It only made her wonder why the hollow was so adamant about getting that boy's soul though.

It wasn't long after the soul reaper obtained the cage that the orange-haired boy from before appeared.

His body and soul were separated by the soul reaper and the woman rose her eyebrows. This was a human boy doing the job of a soul reaper.

With that thought, the woman realized what had happened and why this boy was doing such a thing.

The dark-haired girl had given that boy her powers. Such an act was considered highly illegal in the soul society and just about everyone knew it. That should be more than enough information for her boss.

That didn't stop the woman from watching the fight though. The tan human boy seemed to be protecting the empty bodies of both the orange-haired teens while the orange-haired boy fought the hollow in front of them.

The boy was strong as a soul reaper, which was more than obvious to her. The size of the blade he wielded had thrown her off for a minute but she simply stored that thought in the back of her mind to be relayed later. She watched the boy continue to fight until another voice drew her attention.

"Everything is my fault..." She heard a child's voice say. It came from the bird that sat between the soul reaper girl and the tan boy.

The woman turned her attention away from the fight that the orange-haired boy was engaged in and listened to the boy.

The soul reaper turned to the bird. "Boy, what did you just say?" She asked.

The woman watched the bird dip its head in shame. "I said, everything is my fault... Because of me... you and Mister are hurt..." It sniffled.

She couldn't help but think about how sweet this boy was. He was concerned about the safety of those who helped him. He didn't want to see anyone hurt but there was obviously something else going on.

What she heard next made her heart shatter.

"It's because I wanted to bring my mommy back to life..." The boy said.

Memories of being called that, being called mommy, flashed through the woman's mind. Did her own little boy feel the same as this young soul once he found out about her faked death?

Without even thinking twice, the woman took off. She would gather more information on the soul reaper for another day.

She rushed home and entered her gigai before collapsing on the couch hugging herself. This is why she could hardly stand to be around children anymore. They all reminded her of what that bastard had forced her away from.

She finally allowed herself to slip into a happy memory, a memory of the first time she found herself being called any variation of the word "mommy".

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It had been shortly over six months since she had given birth to the tiny baby boy that was her son. Her little one wasn't handling the change in seasons very well and it made him fussy.

The nearly 16-year-old mother was beginning to discover that her son had a bit of a temper and a somewhat picky personality. When he got upset, he would throw his toys or whatever he could get his little hands on. When he didn't like a new food, he would yell and smack the spoon out of her hand.

It was frustrating at times but she found plenty of positive things about having her baby boy that more than outweighed the negative aspects to her.

One of her favorite things was how very affectionate the boy could be. When he wanted to be held and cuddled he would let his mother know and then would be content to be hugged, cuddled, and given kisses for quite a while. He would even be comfortable falling asleep on her chest while she relaxed on the couch. Her son gave her a love she hadn't felt before and it made her happy.

Though he was an affectionate child, the boy was also beginning to show independence. She could allow herself time to work or cook while he played, though she routinely checked on him since he was beginning to become mobile. He would roll from his back to his tummy and back again or push himself up on his hands and knees.

Watching him play was another thing she loved. When he played with one of his favorite toys there was this bright smile on his face and the happiest spark in his eyes. When he was given a new toy he seemed to try and figure out every possible way he could play with it. It was such an interesting thing to see, such a small child trying to figure out anything he could.

At the moment the boy was left to play on his own for a short time while his mother cooked for him. When she had taken him to her trusted medical expert just a few days ago, it had been recommended that she start feeding her baby soft foods. She'd been given a list of foods to start out with and instructions on how to prepare them and feed them to him. That was one of the most useful things she owned at the moment considering the young woman had rarely cooked for herself, let alone a baby.

Her baby's current favorite food, other than his original diet of her breast milk, was a simple rice pudding made using her breast milk instead of cow's milk as the medical expert had instructed. Though it was her son's favorite, the mother had avoided making it too much. That was partially due to her attempts to get him to try other foods on the list she was given.

The other reason was a bit selfish. The young woman found it hard to squeeze enough milk from her breast without it being painful. The flow she produced was more than adequate for her son to nurse on but her own impatience demanded that she get more milk out faster when she used it to make the rice pudding. In the first few times she'd tried she had actually caused bruises to appear.

Her current attempts to fill the cup she was using to measure out the amount of milk she needed were beginning to frustrate her. Not only did she squeeze too hard, but she also kept missing the cup and making a mess that would have to be cleaned up after she fed her son. It wasn't hard to clean but it was still a bit of an annoyance to her.

She gave up for a moment and ran a hand through her hair. "Dammit... I have to switch sides now..." She muttered and sighed. She really needed to try and relax.

Before she could go back to her attempts at milking herself, she heard her son begin to fuss from the family room. This caused her to let out another sigh before she fixed her simple yukata to cover her chest. She then headed out into the family room to see what her son needed.

When she headed into the family room, her son's gem-like eyes immediately fell on her and he let out a happy giggle. This caused her to smile and laugh back at him as she knelt down in front of him on the blanket she set out for him to play on. He was sitting up on his own now which was already something that made her smile more.

She ruffled the feather-soft hair on his head. "Hey kiddo, you missed mama huh?" She asked, not at all expecting an answer from the baby.

The small boy flailed his arms happily, the toy clutched in his hand being dropped onto the blanket as he did so. He let out a string of happy babbles that slowly transformed into his first word. "Mama!" He cooed.

The young woman froze and stared at her son for a minute before a wide grin spread across her face. "Did- did you say, mama?" She asked, now hoping the baby responded to her.

The baby squealed. He was able to recognize his mother's happiness and being able to pick up on it. To see his mother, the first person he had learned to recognize, be so happy was something that made him happy as well. He reached out to her and spoke his first word for the second time. "Mama!" He squealed.

The excited young mother swept her son into her arms and stood to carefully spin in a circle. When she stopped, she held the giggling boy even closer to her chest and rested her cheek on the top of his head. His soft hair tickled her cheek while his hands clutched at the fabric of her yukata. He continued to coo and babble at his mother, speaking in his own way.

The mess in the kitchen was forgotten for now as her frustration was washed away by happiness and pride. Her darling baby boy was beginning to speak and the first word he said was in recognition of her.

She didn't want the happiness she felt then to ever fade away.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But her happiness didn't last, Instead of it fading away, it had been ripped away from her.

Those happy memories now made her sad.

How badly she wanted to see her darling baby boy again. But she doubted he would ever forgive her for all that she had done under that man's orders.

The woman wiped her eyes before hugging herself again. She had never been like this before. That man truly had broken her. He did so by spotting what made her happy and then finding a way to rip it away from her.

The silver-tongued bastard who took away her happiness tried to instill a false hope of happiness that would come from him.

He promised her that she could have a new life and a new child to replace the ones he had forced her to leave.

A child that he would be the father of.

She wouldn't have been allowed to say no without her children being put in danger so she simply didn't respond to him. She could never bring herself to agree to it so instead chose to stay quiet.

She did not want to replace her children and she did not want to have a child with that man. From the first moment he had told her about his plans to give her a child, she did anything and everything she could to avoid getting pregnant.

In the first few decades, it had been a bit difficult. There had been several times she thought she was pregnant and would purposely go looking for a fight with a hollow without saying a word to that man. She had been lucky that she'd never been confirmed pregnant with his child.

When she found out about the birth control pills of the world of the living, she couldn't have been happier or more thankful. All she had to do now to save herself was take a pill every morning and so long as that man didn't know, then those she loved were safe.

There was more to him wanting her to have a child than just the promise of a replacement child and he had told her that. He was convinced that any child she birthed would be strong and that was what he needed. He wanted a strong child with his blood and he tried to use her to get that. It was something she would never allow to happen.

With nothing but those thoughts in her head, the woman drifted into an uneasy sleep on the couch.

She almost didn't care if tomorrow came.

_Can a tattered string like this still be of use? Can this thread find her place again?_


	10. Feelings of Helplessness and Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unlucky bird arc concludes here! Hana isn't feeling like her usual self.

With no hollows left to attack them, Angel tried to calm herself down but it was a bit hard when she looked at the girl next to her. Hana, the older of the two, wasn't awake and Angel wasn't sure what to do.

Should she leave her friend here and go find help?

Or should she stay by Hana's side and wait to be found?

There was no way she would feel right about leaving Hana so she simply chose to sit and wait to possibly be found. In waiting to be found she found herself with time to think. Her thoughts became a bit intrusive and upsetting.

She felt so useless. All she could do was run away and she couldn't even do that right leading to her being cornered by the hollows that Hana had protected her from. She'd been followed and had to be saved.

Another thought she had was that she felt as if she should have felt disturbed by the appearance of the so-called hollows and the fact that Hana's soul seemed to have separated from her body. In fact, she felt as if she should have been disturbed by this whole situation. Yet, her mind simply accepted it as if she'd seen things like this before to the point that it was normal.

It all seemed familiar really. It was as if she'd always known about things such as hollows.

When she asked herself if she'd ever seen a hollow or someone like Hana, she couldn't remember. Trying to think any more about it than she already had would give her a headache that she couldn't stop. She would have to take pain medicine and sleep it off for as long as it lasted.

The words that Rukia had used also tried to stir something from her memory. Ay memories that tried to surface always seemed to be blocked. She could get a glimpse of something as if it was right there, but it was still so far away. Even the glimpses she got of these memories were hard to remember and keep track of.

Her dreams presented themselves in a similar manner. The main difference was that her dreams were much more detailed and were much longer. They also stuck out in her mind much clearer than any memory that seemed to be trying to surface at the moment.

Before Angel could try to force her memory further, movement from Hana distracted her.

"Han, are you awake?" Angel asked hopefully. There was no way she could deny that she hoped her older friend was awake. It would make figuring out what to do next so much easier.

Hana shifted a bit and groaned before she opened her brown eyes which blankly stared at the sky for a minute before looking over at Angel. "Yeah... I think I'm awake..." She said quietly. She was exhausted from the fight and a short nap wasn't going to change that.

Hana pushed herself up off of the ground and winced as her sore muscles protested the movement.

Angel moved closer to Hana and did her best to help her stand. She placed Hana's arm over her shoulder and did everything she could to support the older girl's weight. "We need to get you back to your body." She managed to grunt out.

Hana nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea." She said and gave a weak smile. Her knees wanted nothing more than to buckle underneath her own weight but she refused to allow them to. She knew that Angel wasn't strong enough to move her without help so she had to do all she could. Though, that didn't seem to be much at the moment.

The older girl took a step forward as best as she could, the step is very small, and the younger girl moved with her. Angel took her time and let Hana set the fact that they moved since she could tell she needed it. If she tried to push her friend to move too fast then they likely wouldn't get anywhere before Hana was on the ground again.

With each step she took, Hana had to stop and rest for a moment while placing most of her weight on Angel. This was all just to build up enough strength to take another small step and it was very frustrating.

Hana felt horrible having to rely so much on Angel but there wasn't much that she could do about that at the moment. If she didn't have Angel to support her then there was no way she'd be able to get anywhere. She highly doubted that she would even manage to drag herself anywhere near her body, let alone manage to get back into it.

This started to bring old memories back to Hana. Memories of being on bed rest when she was younger. When she did get up she felt so weak and helpless. Her arms and legs felt almost like a dead weight that she had to learn to move easily again. Feelings like that were what she had hoped she would never feel again.

Yet here she was, having to be helped around just like back then.

She was now holding back the tears at reliving those memories. She didn't want Angel to worry more about her than she already was so she held back the tears.

The two girls continued walking for what seemed like hours to them. Finally, they found Hana's body left in the middle of the path up ahead of them. Once they reached it, Hana somehow managed to slip back into it. However, she still couldn't move for a bit afterward.

Her heartbeat was irregular, just as it was when her soul left her body and she was terrified to move until it leveled out.

Angel sat beside her and held her hand as they waited for a level, at least somewhat relaxed heart rate.

"I'm so sorry, Angel..." Hana mumbled.

The red-headed girl squeezed her friend's hand and gave her a small smile to try and relax her. "Don't w-worry about it H-Hana." She said kindly. Her stutter had come back as she became nervous about the older girl's heart. "You've done so much for me, you ev-even protected me from those... those things... This is the least I could do." She finished.

Hana's smile brightened a bit and she slowly got herself up. "I think it's about time we try to find Ichigo and Chad." She suggested.

Angel nodded and once again supported Hana. Now the two were able to move a bit faster but it still took them quite a while to find their brothers. When they did find the small group of Chad, Ichigo, and Rukia they noticed that Rukia was standing up from crouching beside the birdcage.

Angel took the lead and called out, "Ichigo! Chad!" She yelled.

The boys turned to them and once Ichigo realized what was going on, he rushed over to take Hana's weight off of Angel. "Are you okay?" Ichigo asked.

Hana nodded a bit. "I'm fine, I just think that the pressure off of all of those hollows got to me." She said. It wasn't really a lie but she did keep facts to herself so that she didn't make her younger brother worry about her even more than he already was.

Ichigo sat Hana down propped against a cement wall, ignoring her protests that she could stand and started to lecture her on running off and being more careful. She just sighed and pretended to listen to him complain to her.

While Ichigo was scolding Hana, Angel walked up to her brother and Yuuichi.

"Mister, Miss..." Yuuichi spoke up.

The Yasutora siblings both looked at him.

"Thank you for everything!" The young boy cried out.

Angel knelt down in front of him and stuck a finger in his cage to run it over his head. "Of course, Yuuichi." She said gently.

Chad simply nodded and mumbled, "It was nothing..."

Yuuichi went silent for a minute while looking between Chad and Angel in a sad way. "Mister, because you carried me around, I didn't get hurt at all." He thanked Chad again.

Chad gave him the exact same response as before, but that was expected of him.

Yuuichi then turned to Angel. "Miss, you have been so nice to me. You made me happy." He told her.

Angel's eyes teared up a bit. "I-it was no problem, Yuuichi..." She said, her smile was wavering a bit.

Yuuichi looked down again. "Well, I should go now... Thank you very much..." He said sadly.

It was silent again for only a minute before Chad's voice broke it. "Yuuichi, when I die and go over there... Is it alright if I carry you around one more time?" He asked.

Angel looked at her brother shocked before smiling again, brighter than before. "And I'll give you a big hug!" She chimed.

Yuuichi stared at the two in shock for a minute before a smile seemed to break out on his face. "Sure!" He chirped excitedly.

Ichigo, who had gone silent and was watching the exchange from his place beside Hana, finally stepped toward them. "Well, I think it's about time to go." He said gently.

Yuuichi braced himself in case he found the ceremony painful before Ichigo performed the ceremony to send him to the soul society. Hana had a gentle smile on her face the entire time she watched her friends and the boy. She felt horrible that he was so young when this all happened but hopefully now he would be at peace.

Rukia let the group sit in silence before she turned her attention to the Yasutora siblings with a hand in her pocket. Before either Ichigo or Hana could say anything, she flashed the other pair of siblings with the memory eraser.

Hana sighed a little bit but didn't argue with Rukia's judgment. She understood that it was better for most people to live in ignorance about these parts of the universe. The more they knew, the more likely they were to become involved in it.

Ichigo took the chance that he now had and rushed Hana home while Rukia took care of Chad and Angel. He had carried Hana all the way home due to her still not being able to walk easily and put her to bed, not allowing her to do just about anything on her own.

Of course, she did get changed on her own though.

Once she was finished changing and in bed, Ichigo started lecturing her again. She knew this was what it was like when she lectured him but she refused to listen to him scolding her about pushing herself too hard. She'd heard enough of these speeches from doctors and her family when she was younger.

After he left, to go make sure that Rukia had everything handled with Angel and Chad, Hana gently rubbed the area over her heart. "Don't act up again, please..." She mumbled to herself.

She despised the thought of being in and out of the hospital again. She was terrified of the thought of waiting on the transplant list and not knowing if her heart would fail before her number was called. There were also the thoughts of what other people might be in need of the heart that she would get.

Would her getting a new heart take it away from someone's mother? Would it take a heart away from someone who was important to enough people that they would never be forgotten? Did she really deserve another new heart when there were people who had been on the list waiting and had never had a transplant before?

She forced those thoughts away before laying down and falling asleep.

Ichigo returned home a short bit later and the first thing he did was check on his younger sisters. Both of them were asleep and there was no doubt that Yuzu had been keeping a close eye on Karin. The sight of those two made him smile a bit. They always seemed to look out for each other.

He closed their door and headed for Hana's room. He found her asleep as well and it made him sigh a bit. He was worried about her and he wouldn't deny it. He could recognize the signs that she was having trouble again and the fact that her soul was separating from her body caused him even more worry.

While he encouraged their father to take her to the hospital to get checked he had been told that it would only happen if Hana had agreed. Both knew that she was stubborn and would deny that something was wrong for at least a little while so they had to wait, no matter how much they disliked that.

Ichigo shut the door to his older sister's room and headed to his own and got ready for bed himself, only to lay awake for a while thinking of all of the events of the day.

When morning came, the Kurosaki kids allowed their oldest sibling to sleep in. Ichigo had told Karin and Yuzu that she was just feeling a bit weaker than usual and, to Yuzu at least, that was enough of an explanation.

Karin had tried to push for more information on why Hana would be feeling weaker since, to her knowledge, her oldest sister had been perfectly fine up until today.

Ichigo simply told her that Hana had been pushing herself a bit too hard in gym class and that made Karin go quiet. Though the dark-haired girl still had questions, she didn't ask anymore.

Yuzu, after being told that Hana didn't feel good, had immediately got to work on making lunch and breakfast like she and Hana usually did. She knew how to do it on her own and was perfectly capable of it but she did still like using the time when they were cooking to spend time with her oldest sister. At the moment, she had things she needed to take care of and would have to do that without Hana so she took her job very seriously.

They let Hana sleep just long enough that she would get more rest but still have plenty of time to get ready before they woke her up. Karin went to do so.

Karin gently shook Hana's shoulder. "Hey, time to get up. We've let you sleep in long enough." She told her.

Hana looked at her a bit confused. "I slept in...?" She asked.

Karin nodded and stepped away a bit from her bed. "Yeah, Ichigo said you weren't feeling the best so we let you sleep a bit more. Yuzu made breakfast and lunch, which includes Angel's too so you don't have to worry about that." She told her.

Hana nodded and got out of bed with Karin still watching her. While she got her uniform ready the younger girl sighed. "Hana, if you're really not feeling well then you need to let Dad check..." She told her.

Karin, just like her siblings, greatly worried about Hana. She and Yuzu could hardly remember, if at all when Hana had surgery but they both knew about it, and neither wanted to risk losing her.

Hana sighed a little bit and looked at her. "I'm fine Karin, if I really think something is wrong then I'll talk to dad about it okay?" She tried to brush off Karin's concerns and kissed the top of her head before pushing her to the door. "Now let me get changed then we'll all head to school." She said with a smile.

Karin didn't say anything and left Hana alone while going to wait with the other two siblings.

Hana came down a few minutes later with her hair still down, she didn't want to bother with putting it up today. She thanked Yuzu for cooking and grabbed her and Angel's lunch. Yuzu gave her a big smile and with that, the Kurosaki family headed to school.

At school, Ichigo and Hana quickly found Chad and Angel. Angel, as usual, was sitting beside Chad with Yuuichi's bird body on her shoulder while he groomed her hair as a way of showing affection. Keigo and Mizuiro were trying to get the bird to speak more but without Yuuichi's soul, he'd lost a lot of his vocabulary.

Hana smiled and sat with Angel. "Good morning, Angel. Good morning, Chad." She greeted.

Angel smiled brightly at her, seeming to block out the boys around them. "Hi Hana, you look tired." She said and gently scratched the bird's colorful cheek.

The bird happily leaned into Angel's touch making Hana giggle. "He really seems to like you." She said, completely dodging the comment about her looking tired.

Angel didn't seem to mind this and nodded her head. "I like him too." She said cheerfully.

The bird chirped and hopped up and down on Angel's shoulder. "Hello!" He chirped.

Both Angel and Hana giggled at the sight and started to give the bird more attention. It had turned out that Angel was a natural at taking care of him and making him feel comfortable around her.

Eventually, the group, excluding Rukia and Ichigo for unknown reasons, had to head to class. This meant putting the bird back in his cage for now.

Hana ignored the fact that her brother was missing for now and dodged all of the questions that his friends threw at her about where he went with Rukia. Surely whatever they were doing had to do with hollows or the soul reaper duties that Ichigo was currently having to fulfill and that was something that Hana couldn't tell anyone about.

She also couldn't do much about being there for Ichigo if he needed her at the moment. She had to rest herself and if she started running around after him right now then she would never get her strength back up. She also wanted to be stronger when it came to being able to help him so that would take more time figuring out how to strengthen the power that she had begun to manifest.

Lunch came rather quickly for the distracted Kurosaki girl, she almost didn't notice how fast the time seemed to pass.

Angel came over to Hana's desk and Hana handed her the extra lunch that Yuzu had prepared. She was proud of her little sister for remembering that fact on her own and would have to be sure to do something extra nice for her.

"Yuzu made lunch today, for some reason I really slept in," Hana explained to Angel.

Angel nodded a bit and sat down. "I'll have to thank her next time I come over." She said. Her stutter didn't exist at the moment due to Hana being the only person that she was interacting with. It also helped that her anxiety levels seemed lower than usual, possibly due to the fact that she'd been able to play with her pet bird.

The two girls started eating, occasionally stopping to talk about one thing or another before they were distracted by Orihime running to the window and acting like she was going to jump out for a minute before Tatsuki stopped her.

Hana couldn't help but rub her forehead and sigh a bit at Orihime's antics. She loved that girl dearly but sometimes her behavior could be exasperating at times. She went to get up to help Tatsuki deal with pulling Orihime away from the window but froze.

Ichigo had all but flown up to the window, the third-floor window. This caused most of the students in the classroom to scream in shock.

Tatsuki pulled Orihime far away from the window and pointed at Ichigo. "How did you get up here?!?!" She demanded.

Ichigo stared at the two girls with a look that, to Hana, gave away that something wasn't right. "How? Didn't you see it? I jumped up. You surprised?" He asked.

The way he spoke also gave Hana the feeling that this wasn't quite Ichigo. She felt like he was nothing but a look-alike.

Angel tapped Hana's shoulder and whispered to her, "Is something wrong with Ichigo?" She asked she had noticed the odd behavior too. Though how could she not?

Hana just shrugged while not taking her eyes off Ichigo. Obviously, something was wrong but she had no idea what it was. And, even if she did know what it was, she doubted it was something that she could tell Angel.

The whole class began whispering and asking the Ichigo look-alike questions about the jump while Hana didn't move or say anything.

Ichigo's eyes, which also seemed to have a different look, scanned the crowd around him before settling on Orihime. Once his eyes settled he all but lunged at the orange-haired girl then wasted no time in flirting with her. When Tatsuki tried to pull him off he simply looked at her and then started flirting with her too.

He even went as far as to kiss the dark-haired girl on the cheek.

Angel was standing beside Hana covering her mouth and blushing a bit, though somewhat feeling jealous of the two girls.

The next thing anyone knew, desks and chairs started flying across the room as Tatsuki chucked them at the Ichigo look-alike.

Hana moved quickly and pulled Angel away from the action. The smaller girl stared wide-eyed at everything going on around her. She tried to push herself closer to the wall in hopes of avoiding anything that might possibly come too close to her and Hana.

"Wh-what's going on?!" Angel squeaked.

Hana still had her arms around her friend to keep her close but she didn't even move to respond to her.

Angel went to ask again but was stopped by Rukia throwing the room door open. "There he goes, Ichigo!" She shouted.

This only caused more confusion for Angel, and what made it worse was seeing Ichigo go after the look-alike. Though she didn't realize that it was in fact just his soul going after his body.

 _'Two Ichigo's!!'_ Her thoughts screeched at her.

Hana didn't notice Angel's reaction. She was too busy watching Ichigo's body jump out of the same window that he had entered and where the real Ichigo was sitting to try and block his escape.

Rukia rushed over to the window next to Ichigo's soul. Hana would have followed if she hadn't been stopped by a small voice.

"Hana, I-I'm very confused..." Angel mumbled.

Hana looked at Angel and tried to come up with some way to get her younger friend out of this. "Don't worry, uh, let's just go for a walk!" She said quickly and pushed Angel out of the room.

A bit away from the classroom Hana stopped and leaned against a wall. Angel looked at her silently for a minute before trying to get her attention again. "Hana...?" She tried.

Hana sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm confused too, so let's just ignore this for now..." She tried to settle her friend.

Angel looked back at the classroom before nodding at her friend.

_Sometimes a new thread can pull you in unexpected directions._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the author's note, I've been trying not to do this too much but I wanted to say that from this point on some manga chapters will be mashed up since I'm not including Hana or Angel in every little event that happens in every way. I also need to draw more for this story.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading Entwined Lives and I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to message me if you want and I'll try to answer questions and such as best I can.


	11. An Angel's Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see into some of the dreams that dear Angel has.  
> Originally typed in February 2018

Once the commotion of the incident with Ichigo had calmed down, both Angel and Hana sat back down to finish eating. Angel stayed silent while Hana tried to make conversation with her. No matter what she did, Angel wouldn't respond to her.

Hana honestly thought that she would have been more curious and would have asked several questions about the incident, yet she was silent.

Finally, a few minutes later, the red-head spoke up. "Ichigo was dressed like... like..." She got stuck on what Ichigo was dressed like. She recognized it and the title of those that wore it was on the tip of her tongue yet she couldn't quite piece it together.

Hana looked at her and waited for what she was going to say.

"Soul reaper... Ichigo was dressed like a soul reaper." Angel finally got out. Her eyes were wider than normal as if she was in shock.

Hana signaled for her to lower her voice and then spoke up. "How do you know about soul reapers?" She asked.

Angel shrugged her shoulders and rubbed her neck. "I don't know, it j-just kind of popped into my head..." She said nervously.

Hana thought for a minute. Did Rukia or Ichigo mention anything about soul reapers around her before? She didn't think so.

Then a thought came to her mind.

Had Angel been in contact with soul reapers in the past and had her memory wiped?

Was it possible that being in contact with soul reapers again was undoing whatever process the memory eraser used?

Though these thoughts were all in her head, Hana didn't say any of them. Instead, she chose to shrug it off and say, "Maybe you read about them or something."

Angel's face scrunched up a bit as if she was confused before she shrugged a bit. "I guess that's possible." She said.

Hana gave her a smile and a pat on her shoulder. "Lunch is almost over. Hopefully, my goofy little brother comes back soon." She joked.

Angel cracked a smile and nodded.

The girls put away their lunches and sat through classes for the rest of the school day. They also made a point to ignore the chatter and whispers about what had happened with Ichigo at lunch.

Angel spent the entire rest of the school day thinking about where she had really heard about soul reapers before. She didn't remember ever reading about them so she highly doubted what Hana said was right. However, she wouldn't say that to Hana since it seemed to make the older girl nervous.

As she continued to think, her head began to hurt more and more. Something seemed to be telling her to stop thinking and just accept everything for what it seemed to be. She couldn't make herself do that though.

Her plans to garden with Hana were becoming a bit far-fetched at this point and by the time the last bell of the day rang, she was holding her head in pain.

Hana noticed this and felt her head for a fever. "You don't feel warm..." She told her.

Angel shook her head a bit. "I-I think it's just a headache... I'm sorry but I just want to sleep..." She told her.

Hana nodded and put a hand on her back. "You can come with me and you can take a nap in my room okay?" She asked gently.

Angel nodded her head a little bit and the two went to head to the Kurosaki house and clinic. She led her friend to her bedroom and gave her some of the clothes that Angel kept over at their house to change into before going to change her own clothes.

Angel changed into her more comfortable clothes and laid down. When Hana came back she had a glass of water and some medicine for Angel's head.

"Here you go, if you wake up I'll be out in the garden okay? I'll be right here." Hana said and smiled at Angel. She knew well about the younger girl's anxiety about being separated from someone she knew well. But Hana wouldn't be far from her so it would be alright.

Angel nodded and took the medicine that was given to her before laying down. "Thank you, Hana." She said quietly.

Hana gave her a nod and closed the curtains a bit to darken the room before heading out to her garden.

Angel cuddled into her friend's pillows and felt her eyes begin to get heavy. Sleeping usually helped her head feel better in situations like this so she was more than happy to allow her eyes to close as she drifted off to sleep.

She was dreaming, she knew that she was. However, all she could do in these dreams was watch, unable to control her movements or speech.

The version her in these dreams was younger than she currently was by several years and she never wore any clothes that matched up to the time period that she currently lived in. She always wondered why that was but there was no way for her to get an answer.

The young Angel ran up to a young boy around the same age as her and jumped onto his back. "Did you miss me ......?" She sang.

By this point, the normal Angel was never surprised by how forward her younger self seemed to be in these. She was forward and friendly with a few of the blurry figures that appeared in her dreams.

She also didn't question the fact that, while she knew she said the boy's name, she couldn't hear it. She could never hear when she said his name, she could never hear any names other than hers in these dreams. She could also never see the faces of the people in her dreams.

The boy reacted to young Angel jumping on his back by jumping and letting out a short, surprised squeak. The squeak embarrassed him even more than the fact that Angel had managed to sneak up on him.

He turned to her and while she couldn't see his face, she knew that he had a glare directed at her. "Angel! Don't do that!" He snapped.

The young Angel wasn't bothered by his snapping or by his glare which used to confuse her. Her current self could hardly stand to have anyone raise their voice at her and she hated to be glared at.

Angel slid off of the boy's back and gave him the biggest, cutest puppy dog eyes that she could manage. "Did I surprise you so much that you don't like me anymore?" She asked with a sad tone to her voice.

The boy's cheeks redden more than what was caused by his embarrassment before and he looked a bit away from her. "I-I still like you, you're my friend, Angel." He told her.

Little Angel dropped the puppy dog eyes and hugged the boy. "Yay! I'm glad you still like me!" She cheered and giggled.

The boy stood still for a minute before awkwardly patting her back with a slightly brighter blush on his face.

The feeling that little Angel had while around this boy was obvious, she cared deeply for him. She wanted to see him smile and she wanted to make him happy.

She finally pulled away from the hug and smiled brightly at him. "What are you doing?" She questioned.

He gave her a look and then looked in the direction that he had been headed before she surprised him. "I'm going to wait for mom. I helped make dinner for her because she has been working so hard." He told his friend.

Angel felt a grin spread across her face "That's so sweet!" She cooed. "I'm going to come too, maybe we'll manage to see my brother too." She told him before grabbing his arm and pulling him in the same direction that he'd looked.

Though the children were young, they often wandered this path on their own. They had been allowed to do so only when the boy's mother was supposed to be heading to pick him up. They knew the way well and had to stop at a certain point but they had no fear that something bad would happen to them.

The two reached the end of the path they were allowed to travel and stopped to wait.

Both watched the path for a while, waiting to see the people that they were waiting for before the boy shifting his feet made Angel look at him. He seemed to be nervous. "Angel, you can come to eat with us." He told her almost shyly.

She smiled at him and nodded, not noticing or caring that she was still holding onto his wrist. "Thank you." She chirped happily at him.

She could tell that the boy smiled back.

Then that was it. The world of her dream faded to black.

Angel's eyes opened form her sleep and she looked around the room that she was in. For a minute she had forgotten that she'd come home with Hana and was confused about being in her room. Then she finally remembered and calmed herself down.

She rubbed her eyes and stretched before checking the time. She'd been asleep for about an hour and a half but it didn't help her headache at all. It almost seemed as if it was worse than when she fell asleep.

She put a hand on her head and tried to ignore the headache while she thought about the dream. One part of it stood out to her more than others.

Brother, her dreams had never before included someone that she called her brother. It didn't make sense.

She groaned in pain and put both hands on her head. It felt like something was desperately trying to push its way through her mind but something wouldn't let it.

She stopped thinking about the dream for now and instead grabbed her phone to message Hana. Though she was right outside Angel didn't think that she'd be able to get outside without any problems. She messaged Hana and told her that her head hurt more than before and laid back down with her arm over her eyes.

Hana rushed up while making sure to stay quiet and not make her friend's headache worse. She felt her head again to make sure a fever hadn't developed. Again she found none and grabbed the things she had brought to try and help her.

Lavender oil and lemon oil were supposed to help with headaches and Hana had good luck with them whenever she used them. She gently took Angel's wrist and dabbed some lavender on them before putting some lemon oil on her temples.

Angel's eyes were scrunched shut and she tried to relax as Hana did her best to help her. "I had another one of those dreams..." She told her.

Hana looked at her after putting the oils away. She would have given her more medicine but it was too soon to do so. "What was it about this time?" She asked.

Angel explained her dream to Hana, not leaving any part out.

Hana nodded a little bit. "You think you had a brother before Chad?" She asked.

Angel shrugged a little bit. "I don't know. I don't think it's possible though." She said.

Hana looked at her confused. "Why couldn't it be possible?" She asked.

Angel kept her eyes closed as she spoke. "I have memories of being with Chad and grandpa while being the same age that I am in the dreams..." She explained. She felt as if that was something she'd never noticed before.

Hana's eyebrows furrowed. "That is odd..." She mumbled. She didn't understand how something like that could work. But if that were the case then maybe she wasn't really dreaming of her past?

Angel kept her eyes closed and didn't respond to Hana but just tried to relax again.

Hana could understand what she was doing and stayed quiet to allow her to relax again. A thought came to mind for her, what if Angel was having dreams of a previous life?

She liked to believe in the thought of reincarnation but she wasn't sure if it was a truth or not. She was scared to ask Rukia about it because she didn't want to be told that it didn't exist. But perhaps this warranted her asking about it.

Rukia and Ichigo hadn't returned home yet though and that was an obstacle to her asking any questions.

When Angel fell back asleep Hana decided to call Chad and tell him that Angel might need help getting home, though at the same time to allow her to rest and see if her headache would go away before she had to go home.

Chad came to get Angel after a few hours. Her head still hurts but nowhere near as bad as it had when she'd woken up after the dream.

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help in the garden today..." Angel apologized.

Hana smiled and hugged her. "Don't worry about it Angel, I know you weren't feeling the best." She said.

Angel hugged her back before letting go and heading home with Chad.

Hana sighed a little bit and went to doing chores around the house. It seemed like Karin and Yuzu were out doing something and she hadn't heard from her father yet.

Not an hour passed before Ichigo and Rukia got home. Hana did a double-take when she noticed the torn shoulder of Ichigo's uniform and put her hands on her hips. "You know you've caused a lot of trouble today." She scolded her brother.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her. "Yeah sorry about that, but it wasn't me!" He defended himself.

"He's not lying, Hana," Rukia spoke up and pulled Hana's hand out to put a round, green ball in it. "This was the cause of all that trouble." She said.

Hana looked at the little green orb in confusion and then looked at Rukia. "I'm sorry Rukia, but what is this?" She asked the soul reaper.

"This is what's called a mod soul, I was under the impression that it was simply a temporary soul without its own real personality. Instead, he was something completely different." She explained.

Hana nodded a little bit, it explained a little bit to her even though it seemed to bring up more questions. There was only one set of questions that she wanted to ask at the moment and she looked at Rukia. "Could I speak with you for a bit?" She asked.

The violet-eyed girl looked at her a bit confused but agreed and followed Hana to her room. "What is this about?" She asked.

"What happens when a soul dies in the soul society?" Hana asked.

Rukia was looking around the room and taking in Hana's decoration style when she responded. "We're not entirely sure. There are a few theories about it." She told her.

Hana sat on her bed and looked up at her. "What about reincarnation?" She asked.

Rukia turned and looked at her. "That is one of the theories, but may I ask what brought this up?" She asked in return.

Hana looked down at her hands in her lap. "It's Angel..." She mumbled.

Rukia's eyes widened a bit but she tried to hide it. "What about her would make you ask things like this?" She asked.

Hana pushed her hair behind her ear. "Angel has been having dreams, ever since I've known her. They present like memories and there are things in those memories that she can't see, like faces and hair colors. She can't hear names when she says them." She explained.

Rukia nodded a bit in understanding and listened closely. She had been curious about Angel and now she may get some answers. She may get to figure out if this girl really was who she thought she was.

"She always has headaches after her dreams and she can't think about them for long afterward because of it." Hana continued. "But today she told me something she'd never said before. She said that it was impossible for the dreams to be memories because she has memories with Chad from the age that she is in those dreams." She explained.

Rukia went into thought. That did seem odd to her, but it did also seem like something that would point towards reincarnation. She then met Hana's curious eyes again. "That is curious, can you tell me anything else about those dreams?" She asked.

Hana thought, what could she tell her without giving too much personal information about Angel? Things that Angel wouldn't get too mad about her telling the soul reaper. Finally, she spoke up. "A lot of it really isn't anything. Just dreams of her playing with someone else her age, a boy, but sometimes there are others. It was earlier that she told me something she'd never seen in her dreams before. She said something about the younger her in her dream mentioning having a brother." She finished.

Rukia stared at her for a minute before speaking. "What you said does seem to indicate some possibility of reincarnation. I suppose it may be possible she could be gaining memories of her past life." She said.

Hana found herself smiling a bit at the thought but stopped as she thought of some of her other questions. "Can I ask you something else?" She asked.

Rukia looked at her confused but nodded. "Of course."

"Is there any way the process of memory-erasing can be undone?" She asked.

Rukia was more confused than before. "I've never heard of it but what brought that question up?" She asked.

Hana looked at her and wondered if she should tell her. After a minute she sighed and decided to tell her. "She saw Ichigo earlier when you dealt with the fake soul, soul reaper Ichigo and she knew the soul reaper uniform." She explained.

Rukia nodded a little bit. "I suppose it's possible for the process to become undone." She said.

Brown eyes met violet seriously. "That's not all. Rukia no one said a single thing about soul reapers to her during that deal with Yuuichi from my knowledge." She said. "I was wondering if you thought it was possible she's been in contact with soul reapers before and all this exposure to them now could undo the memory erasure." She explained.

Rukia sighed a bit. "I suppose that's possible. There are almost always soul reapers in any area just in case hollows appear." She explained.

Hana nodded her head a bit one more time and gave Rukia a smile. "Thank you so much for answering me Rukia, I know you didn't have to." She thanked.

The soul reaper smiled back at her. "Of course Hana, I'm glad you're comfortable enough with me to ask questions." She said.

The two girls smiled at each other before Rukia headed back to where Ichigo was sitting. Hana stayed in her room and thought.

_Threads just seem to get more jumbled as you search._


	12. How We Used to Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana and Ichigo's past is explored more.  
> Originally typed in February 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings include; mentions of deteriorating heart health, mentions of steroids used to improve heart condition, death of a parent, side effects of medication, hospital stays, heart transplant, and I suppose you could call it depression.

Hana could remember when she and her little brother were almost the opposite personalities that they currently were. He was as smiley and bright as a child could be. He would smile enough for two people and that was a good thing because, at that point in time, Hana was almost the opposite of him. She would smile for her brother and her parents but rarely anyone else.

She was already terrified of doing things at the age of five. She had been instilled with a fear that most children don't have to deal with. For a few years of her life, the first few, her heart had been stable and she was able to play like a normal child. But, in the last few years, the condition of her heart had deteriorated so she now had to be careful whenever she wanted to play. This led to her feeling excluded when she watched others play.

Ichigo did whatever he could to make his sister feel included and to get her to smile. He would make up for her not being able to play ball with him by sitting and playing dolls or stuffed animals with her. He also started trying to help Hana and their mother in the garden.

Then the day came that Ichigo entered karate classes. Hana was upset that she wouldn't get to join in and she tried her hardest to convince her mother and father to let her join the class as well. They didn't cave and simply told her no repeatedly. They had explained to her why she couldn't go to class with Ichigo but she refused to accept it this time. She wanted to learn to fight too.

The night before Ichigo's first class, their mother held her daughter close and did her best to cheer up her oldest child. "Hana, I know you want to take karate too." She started.

Hana's sad, brown eyes met her mother's, but she didn't say anything.

"You know why we can't let you dear." Her mother continued.

Hana looked away again and huffed causing her mother to chuckle.

"However, if you're good, then you can go along with him and watch. You can learn by watching." She tried to encourage her.

Hana still didn't look up but she chose to speak up. "Then, when my heart gets better, I can take classes with Ichigo?" She asked.

Her mother smiled and played with her hair. "Of course. But your heart still has a long way to go before it gets better." She told her gently. She knew how much Hana hated the fact that her heart held her back and she could understand. Her little girl just wanted to play as any little kid did.

Hana took a few minutes of silence to think before she answered. "Okay mommy, I'll be good and go watch. And I won't fight or anything." She promised.

That earned Hana a kiss on the head and a bright smile. "That's my big girl." She cooed and tucked Hana into bed. "Now get some rest my little flower, I'll be here in the morning." She assured like she always did.

Hana smiled and relaxed into her pillows with her eyes closed. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

Morning came in no time and Hana was woken up by her mother. Both smiled and Hana all but jumped out of bed, ignoring the light scolding she got for doing so.

Her mother giggled a bit and got her clothes. "Calm down Hana. We need to get you ready, then you need to take your medicine." She told her daughter.

Hana's face scrunched up a bit at the thought of her medicine, she hated it. "I don't like my medicine mommy." She complained for the hundredth or so time since being prescribed the steroids to hopefully improve her heart.

Her mother started dressing her. "I know you don't like it darling, but you have to take it if you want your heart to get better." She tried to encourage.

Hana sighed and nodded a little bit. "I know mommy, but it makes me feel icky." She told her. This was another complaint she often had. Doctors simply told her that it was normal.

As Hana's mother started brushing her daughter's hair she looked at her with a tinge of sadness. She felt horrible about what Hana was having to go through at such a young age and she felt horrible that there was nothing she could do about it.

The doctors were almost ready to place Hana on the transplant list due to the condition of her heart. If it didn't improve soon then there was no avoiding that. Though her mother had a horrible feeling that it would only be a temporary fix to the problem.

Hana's hair was tied up in two, high on her head pigtails before the family sat down to eat together.

Ichigo grinned brightly at his mother and sister. "You're coming with me right?" He asked his big sister.

Hana smiled back at him and nodded. "Uh-huh, as long as I just watch then mommy said that I can go with you." She chirped happily.

Their mother and father watched the two with smiles on their faces.

In what seemed to be no time at all for the two children, it came time to take them to the dojo. Both siblings held onto their mother's hands as they walked. It started out with both children smiling and being happy though it didn't take long for Hana's smile to turn into a frown.

She loved the thought of going to watch Ichigo at the dojo but she also hated it. She'd be that girl sitting out by herself again.

It wasn't just that, her medicine had taken effect and was starting to bother her as usual. However, she didn't stop following her mother and brother.

The three entered the dojo, still holding hands. Ichigo smiled as brightly as he could while Hana hid a bit behind her mother. Her eyes scanned the dojo for somewhere she might be able to sit and not be a bother to anyone.

After a brief conversation with the adults at the dojo, about how Hana would be spending her time there, their mother bid the two goodbyes and Hana went to sit in the spot she'd picked.

Hana watched from that spot every day that Ichigo went to classes. When he would lose a sparring match and start crying, she would go over to give him a hug and try to get him to stop. She wanted to attempt to cheer him up like he'd done for her so many times whenever she was told she couldn't do something she wanted because it would be bad for her heart.

She wasn't able to do the same for him though. Ichigo would give his big sister smiles but his tears wouldn't dry up, not for her. His tears would stop whenever their mother came to get the two though. He would give their mother the brightest smiles and both would run over to meet her.

Hana always got scolded for running over but she ignored it, she was just happy to see her and wanted to be there at the same time as her little brother.

It had been only a short time after Ichigo started karate that Hana was put on the heart transplant list. At that point, she began to smile less and less. Eventually, she even stopped trying to comfort Ichigo when he lost a match. She even stopped rushing over whenever their mother came to pick them up. She instead waited for them to come to her.

Ichigo would still smile for his big sister. He would still try to get her to smile but Hana just wouldn't. He refused to give up though.

A few weeks after her placement on the transplant list, Hana stopped following Ichigo to the dojo and instead stayed at home with her mother and her baby sisters. She mostly sat out in the garden and waited for her mother to get some time to help her take care of it. It was all that she felt she could do.

Ichigo would come home and tell her all about what he had learned. He would tell her about all of his matches and how he continually lost to the girl named Tatsuki. He did his best to encourage her to come back and see him fight, but she refused.

As the two went into school, things continued in a similar way. Ichigo was always happy and smiling while Hana was withdrawn and would hardly give a look to anyone. Ichigo still never stopped trying to get her to smile, even though they weren't in the same class he did his best whenever he saw her. It was his mission every day to make his big sister smile.

Things took another turn when Hana was suddenly admitted to the hospital at the age of six, just a few months before her seventh birthday. She cried and cried once she was told that she wouldn't be able to leave the hospital until she got her transplant.

Ichigo crawled into the hospital bed and hugged her. "Don't cry, Hana. We're here for you." He assured her. It had been hard to see her like this but he just wanted her to be healthy and to wear a smile again.

"They'll find a heart for you and then we can play like we used to." He told her.

Hana sniffled and hugged her little brother back. She was really grateful for that cheerful boy.

Her family couldn't always be with her in the hospital and she understood. Her father was a busy man and her mother had to help around the house and take care of Ichigo and their younger siblings. Ichigo couldn't always be there because he had class and karate but he would make a point to go along to see her even if he had homework. He worked on it in the hospital room with Hana.

Hana ended up celebrating her birthday in the hospital. She hated it. She couldn't get out of bed and she was scared that it would be her last birthday. Her mother assured her that she would be fine and that a heart would be found for her soon but the young girl had a hard time believing her.

For her birthday the nurses even brought her a few gifts. She got some stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers, hair ties, coloring books, and crayons. Never would Hana say that she wasn't grateful for their kindness. It helped her a bit but it didn't do much to ease her fear.

A few days later, Hana was wheeled into surgery. She had received another, later, birthday present. A donor's heart had been found for her and she was ready for the transplant. Her family waited anxiously for news during the surgery, hating the thought that something could go wrong.

But Ichigo just smiled.

"I knew they'd find her a heart." He told his parents with a grin.

His mother hugged him with a smile on her face. She was proud of how he was handling this.

Hours passed before Hana came out of surgery. There hadn't been any complications and she was resting peacefully.

When she woke up, her family was there for her. Ichigo grinned and held her hand since he was afraid that he would hurt her if he hugged her. The twins weren't allowed near her at the moment but they were happy to see her as well. They had even brought some of their own toys to give her as a gift to help her get better.

Hana got kisses from her parents along with the small gifts from her sisters and she found herself smiling a bit. She wasn't out of the woods yet, there was still a chance that her body would reject the new heart, but she had a new heart and a chance at getting better.

Hana's body ended up accepting the new heart without any problem and then it was on to healing. Her family did their best to try and get Hana back into the life of a normal little girl. Ichigo was there as much as a kid in school could be. He always helped her with a smile.

From then on, there seemed to be nothing that could keep the siblings from smiling together.

Hana still had to be careful about playing once she was back on her feet, but Ichigo was there to keep an eye on her. It was much easier now that they had ended up in the same class.

That made Ichigo happy. He wanted to keep a close eye on her in case something happened. The two were inseparable and they were happy that way.

Ichigo even helped Hana learn a few karate moves since he remembered how badly she'd wanted to take classes with him.

Their parents were happy watching their two oldest get along. They knew that siblings didn't always get along and often thanked their lucky stars that their two oldest not only got along with each other but were very considerate and kind to their younger twin siblings.

The times the two did do things apart, Hana often chose to work in the garden with her mother or on her own. At that time the garden was much simpler than it would become in the future meaning it was easier to take care of.

That was also around the time the deadly nightshade started growing in the garden.

The older two also sometimes helped take care of their little sisters, Hana had even started learning to cook alongside her mother in case she ever needed to help while their parents were busy with the twins. Hana and Ichigo loved Karin and Yuzu as much as they loved each other.

The family was as happy as could be and you would think that nothing could possibly end that happiness.

Of course, the universe doesn't always let things be when they're the happiest.

When Hana was 10 and Ichigo was 9, things changed drastically.

Their mother died.

Hana cried and cried, much like she had when she was put in the hospital before her transplant. But this time, Ichigo didn't do much to help cheer her up. He didn't give her the smiles he'd given her when she cried about her heart. He was still there for her, but it wasn't the same.

Neither could manage to cheer the other up and both began skipping school. Hana knew it was wrong but she couldn't let her little brother wander around alone.

Both siblings would stay by the riverbank where their mother died. Ichigo would pace up and down the bank while Hana would sit in one place and keep an eye on him.

At night they would go home but wouldn't speak to anyone.

Hana eventually started picking up on the housework as she had learned from watching and helping her mother. She also took it upon herself to start being there for her sisters when they needed her. She began to smile at them because she was sure that her mother would want that.

She realized then that she was the oldest and that her siblings needed her to be strong. She felt as if she began smiling more than she had before.

That may have been because she did for Ichigo what he once did for her. She wanted to smile enough for both of them like he'd done when her heart went bad.

So that's what she did. She smiled for her family, to make her mother proud, to make sure that her family was taken care of. That became her job and she felt proud to have it.

_Things always change and once our string begins to change, we will never be the same as we used to be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was actually supposed to be together with the next chapter but I thought it started running long so this became it's own. It might not flow the best and I'm sorry about that.
> 
> Fun Fact: a little over a year after I originally posted this chapter, my mother had to have open-heart surgery due to a massive blood clot and they discovered that she did in fact find a hole in her heart. I kinda felt like I jinxed her once I found that out.


	13. Remnants of a Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kurosaki family goes to visit their mother's grave.  
> Originally typed in February 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: mentions of death of a parent, mentions of heart problems

Hana's memories of her mother seemed to have passed so long ago and her mother's death seemed to have happened so long ago. But, it wasn't something that could easily be forgotten, especially not today.

Today was the anniversary of her death.

Hana looked ahead of her at the rest of her family. Karin and Yuzu were upfront followed by their father, then Ichigo and bringing up the rear was Hana. She was having a hard time with the hill that they were going up but she said nothing about it.

She could hear Yuzu sigh loudly up at the front. "This is such a tough hill." She whined a bit.

"Really? It's nothing to me." Karin responded.

She smiled a bit, either Karin was lying about how hard she found the hill or she really was becoming an athletic girl.

Those thoughts stopped when their father started yelling. "Do you best, Yuzu! Don't give in, Yuzu! Daddy's with you!" He shouted.

Hana shook her head a bit, laughing lightly when her father started walking up the hill on his hands.

"Look! Hey, look at Daddy! He's climbing the hill while standing on his hands!" He continued to shout.

Yuzu looked at him but Karin simply faced forward and kept walking. "Ignore him, Yuzu. Encourage people like that and it will never end." She said.

Hana found herself shaking her head again and smiling more. Ignoring their father would do nothing to stop him.

She stopped walking for a minute in order to catch her breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She didn't ask her family to stop and wait for her since she didn't want to worry them.

Her father soon came rolling down the hill causing her to jump a bit and look in the direction he'd come rolling from. She was sure it was either Karin or Ichigo that caused that but she didn't have more time to think about that when she noticed Ichigo's eyes on her.

"Are you doing alright, Hana?" He asked.

She quickly nodded and rushed up to him. "Yeah, sorry I just got a little winded." She told him.

He gave her a look but turned to keep walking. She walked right beside him and the two were silent for a minute.

"It's so hot today..." Ichigo spoke up.

Hana nodded at him. "Dad, Yuzu, and Karin don't seem to be bothered by it though." She told him.

He hummed to show he heard her and wiped the sweat from his face. "Even though it's the same date, it's a hell of a lot different..." He mumbled.

Hana frowned a bit and linked her arm with her younger brother's. "Remember when we held hands everywhere we went?" She asked.

He nodded a bit but didn't say anything.

The oldest two of the Kurosaki siblings had their attention caught by Karin speaking up. "There's someone there..." She said.

"You're right, is that person visiting a grave too?" Yuzu asked.

The girl standing up the hill turned and waved, revealing herself to be Rukia. Ichigo was more than shocked but Hana just smiled and waved a bit back.

Yuzu turned to her older siblings. "She's waving, do you know her?" She asked.

Hana was going to speak but Ichigo cut her off. "I dunno! I don't know that person! I utterly, completely don't-"

Karin cut him off, "seems like I've seen her before..." She mumbled.

Ichigo began flailing, forcing Hana to let go of his arm. "I remember!! A classmate from my middle school days! It's all coming back to me!" He shouted.

Hana looked at him confused.

"Oh no!! I'm feeling so nostalgic that I want to talk to her alone immediately!" He continued and rushed past the three girls. "With that said, I'm going." He continued running up to meet her.

Hana sighed a bit and Karin chuckled slyly.

Both Hana and Yuzu looked at the dark-haired girl. "What? What's with the "heh-heh"?!" Yuzu asked.

Karin rubbed her chin like she was a wise old man with a beard. "Nothing, just that it seems he's finally reached that age..." She trailed off.

Hana's eyes widened a bit while Yuzu was just more confused.

Hana gently grabbed her dark-haired sister's ear. "Karin, you shouldn't talk like that." She scolded.

Karin frowned a bit and pulled away from her. "Fine, I'll stop. But who is she?" She asked.

Hana pat her head and smiled. "She's a friend, simple as that." She told her. "Now let's keep going. We shouldn't keep mom waiting." She said gently.

The younger girls nodded and kept walking.

The family group reached their mother's grave and Ichigo joined them a bit after.

Hana gave him a look but didn't say anything. When she looked back at Karin, she found her praying to their mother. It made her smile. That was until her father started acting up.

Something about a domino rally. She frowned a bit and turned to him. "Dad please, people are trying to rest." She said firmly.

She was ignored and he kept going until Hana had enough. "That's it! Dad if you keep this up you won't get any dinner!" She snapped.

Her father stopped and stared at her in shock. "Whaaa?!" He screeched.

It worked and he shut up though.

This gave Hana a chance to stop and think which caused her to slip back into her memories.

The memory of this day, years ago.

She'd gone with Ichigo and their mother that day. It was raining heavily and all three walked the sidewalks with umbrellas over their heads keeping them from getting wet.

That was until a truck drove by and splashed Ichigo.

"Oh my, oh my, what a bad truck. Are you okay, Ichigo?" Their mother cooed and let go of Hana's hand in order to dry some water off of Ichigo's face.

Hana was holding her umbrella with both hands, a bit nervous. Ichigo was soaked and she was scared that he would end up getting sick. She didn't' want her little brother to get sick.

She watched as her mother continued to dry Ichigo off as much as she could. "Sorry, here, let's switch. I'll walk on the roadside." Their mother insisted.

Ichigo looked at her. "It's okay. I'll stay on this side, I'm wearing a raincoat, so I'll be fine." He insisted back. "I'll protect you and Hana from now on, Momma!" He promised the two.

Their mother smiled. "Oh my, how reliable." She praised and kept drying him off. "But no way! I can't leave the roadside to you when you haven't won even one match against Tatsuki." She playfully teased.

Ichigo tried to speak but he couldn't quite be understood because of their mother's handkerchief covering his face. "Oh my, I don't know what you're saying." She giggled.

Hana frowned a little. She knew that the losing streak was a bit of a sensitive topic and that Ichigo didn't really like it when it was brought up.

Her mother pulled the cloth away from Ichigo's face and he spoke loudly. "I said I got a hit in last time!"

Their mother ignored what he said and stood straight. Before she could grab Hana's hand as she had before, Ichigo spoke up.

"Momma... Can we hold hands?" He asked.

Their mother held her hand out to Ichigo and smiled. "Of course we can!" She cheered.

Her and Ichigo grabbed hands before Ichigo turned to Hana. "You can hold my hand too, Hana." He told her.

Hana smiled at him and grabbed his hand. "Okay." She grinned.

The three again started walking until Hana stopped. She suddenly felt tired and weak.

Ichigo noticed and tugged their mother's hand. "Momma, I don't think Hana feels good." He said.

Their mother looked and took a moment to feel Hana's head. "No fever my little flower, but if you're feeling tired we should head home a bit faster." She said and lifted her up.

She was a bit lucky that Hana was still a bit small for her age. It made her easier to be carried.

Hana leaned her head against her mother's shoulder and tried to relax. Eventually, she fell asleep. Or it appeared that she fell asleep, rather something seemed to be pushing down on her heavily until she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

She was never really sure what happened that day. When she woke up she was in the hospital. Apparently, it had been impossible to wake her up so she had been taken there in fear that she had been injured.

After they gave her a check-up, she found out about her mother.

Ichigo never talked about it with her, he refused to.

Hana slipped out of her memories and looked at Ichigo who was now staring at the grave. She frowned a bit.

She pat his back and gave him a sad smile before going to find Karin and Yuzu.

Yuzu was crying like she did every year. Karin had her arm around her. "You gotta quit crying foolishly every year when this day comes around! We're already 11, so be mature!" Karin scolded.

Hana shook her head and sat beside Yuzu. "Karin, be nice." She told her. "You may be 11, but that doesn't mean you can't cry. Being mature doesn't mean that you can't cry." She tried to reassure the twins.

Yuzu latched onto her and cried while Karin huffed.

"I know you don't approve, Karin. But, people all handle things differently and this is how Yuzu handles this." She told her.

Karin doesn't respond but looked away at the sound of a whistle. "Well, Beardo is blowing the whistle to gather us up! We gotta go." She changed her tone entirely.

Hana smiled a bit and went to get up but found herself unable to. Her eyes widened as she began to feel her heartbeat quicken and her breathing became labored.

She could see Karin take off but couldn't call after her to try and stop her.

There was a hollow nearby and she couldn't do anything about it at the moment. She wasn't going to be able to protect her sisters if she couldn't get out of her body.

She tried to speed the process up but she couldn't. She had no idea how to speed it up and just had to sit through it as it became harder and harder to breathe.

Ichigo, there had to be a way that she could tell Ichigo.

She tried harder to will her soul out of her body but there was still no change. It seemed like the faster she fought to exit her body, the more it hurt to be in it, and the longer she was.

She closed her eyes and winced. It seemed like there would be nothing she could do to encourage her soul to leave her body so she just had to sit through it.

It continued to become harder to breathe and then finally she could breathe again. She opened her eyes and looked at herself to make sure she was out of her body before taking a deep breath and screaming. "ICHIGO!!!"

Her hand fell on the hilt of her sword in case she would need it and she started trying to find her sisters. She left her body there without thinking too much about what would happen if she was found.

She wasn't concerned about that right now, all she wanted to do was find her sisters and make sure they were safe.

_Remnants of lost threads can still be found, in the memories of those who loved them._


	14. Seeing Mother's Face Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana finds out what happened the day her mother died, Ichigo and Hana get more closure about their mother's death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of death and violent fighting

Hana wasn't sure if Ichigo had heard her or how far away he was, all she was sure of was that she needed to protect her baby sisters. She continued to attempt to find her sisters while still squeezing the hilt of her sword tightly.

When she finally found Karin and Yuzu, she found Karin pinned down by a hairy hollow and Yuzu being held in the air by her throat at the hands of that same hollow.

A growl formed in the back of Hana's throat and instinct drove her to act. She drew her blade in an instant and sliced through the tentacle holding Yuzu by her neck. She could hardly manage to move her sword to a non-threatening position before catching the falling girl. Once Hana was sure that Yuzu was alive she carefully set her on the ground and lifted her sword again.

This time her focus was on getting Karin away from the hollow. "Get off my sister!!" She growled.

The hollow stared at her for a second and snarled. "You brat!! You had to interfere!!" It snapped and sent another tentacle racing toward Hana.

She readied her blade though didn't get the chance to use it again. Before she could move or before the tentacle could reach her it had already been sliced in half by a too large blade.

Ichigo, who had been the one to slice the tentacle, turned and looked at the two orange-haired sisters. "Get Karin." He ordered her.

She nodded and prepared herself to move.

Hana wasn't sure if her brother made sure that she was ready before he rushed forward but she was once he did. He sliced through the hand holding Karin down and Hana rushed in to grab her. She held her sister tightly to her and moved back to where Yuzu was unconscious on the ground. She still didn't let go of her.

"Soul reapers!!" The hollow snarled again.

Hana lifted Yuzu up with her free arm as best she could in order to hold both of her sisters protectively. She was getting ready to move again if she needed to but it would be hard with the two of them.

Ichigo turned and glared at the hollow, or rather the human form that the hollow somehow had. "What's going on here? You... You were the one at the River's Edge six years ago!" He yelled.

Hana's eyes widened a bit. What did he mean by that?

Ichigo didn't notice his older sister's reaction and kept talking. "Why are you here? How come you're with a hollow!?" He growled.

The human body seemed to gain a confused look. "Six years ago? I don't remember that far back. I see you've seen me before..." It said.

Hana held the girls a bit tighter and continued to listen.

"That's right!" Ichigo snapped. "What the heck are you!? A hollow's crony?! Or controlled by a hollow!?" He continued yelling at the person.

The person said nothing and it upset Ichigo more. Hana could completely understand why it did, she was wanting answers from all of this too.

"Say something!" Ichigo snarled.

The hollow looked at them. "Both are wrong." It said.

The body shifted a bit.

Ichigo stared at them. "You... What the hell are you!?" He demanded.

Hana took a moment to move the girls farther back, away from the hollow and the odd being. Then she quickly rushed back to hear the being speak.

"A guy who has seen my form and yet survived... You are a lucky guy." It said. Its head split and something white began pulling out of it.

The human form was shed and what appeared to be a lure attached to the hollows head.

Hana gulped. "What is that?" She asked.

The hollow seemed to loom over the two. "That luck has run out. Now that you've seen me like this. I can't let you two go without eating your souls." It growled.

Ichigo squeezed the hilt of his sword. "What's going on? That kid before is part of you?" He asked.

"Grand Fisher." A voice interrupted. It was Rukia standing off to the side.

The siblings looked at her. "That's his code name. He hides his body, while his neck has a lure that takes on a human shape. Humans who can say that... That is to say, he attacks and devours humans who have high spiritual pressure." She explained.

Hana looked at the Grand Fisher and kept listening.

"By doing this, he increases his own strength. For 54 long years, he has continued to elude us soul reapers." Rukia continued.

Hana didn't take her eyes off of the hollow in front of her. It seemed to be listening to what Rukia had to say as well.

"He's highly infamous. Look, his name is so well known that soul society's database has an extensive record on him." Rukia finished speaking.

Ichigo took a piece of paper from her.

When the hollow finally spoke again, it made Hana jump a bit. It had been silent for so long. "That's true. Anyway, there are so many who can see my form. What a catch!" It giggled.

Hana gulped and looked at Ichigo. His face seemed to be filling with rage and it caused her to tune out the Grand Fisher, ready to ask him what was making him so angry.

Before she could ask he rushed forward to attack the hollow in front of them.

"Ichigo!" She yelled.

Rukia snapped at him as well.

The hollow dodged Ichigo's attack and the two girls ran after him, momentarily forgetting about the two younger girls because their main threat was fighting with Ichigo.

"This is careless, you moron!" Rukia yelled.

Hana agreed with her on that. This hollow was able to hide from soul reapers for so long. That just proved how dangerous it was.

She was trying to figure out how she could help her brother as he continued to fight the Grand Fisher.

Ichigo was suddenly barraged by some sort of attack.

"Ichigo!" Both Rukia and Hana cried.

Rukia started to use one of the soul reaper spells and Hana started to run toward them.

"Stop, Rukia!!" Ichigo screamed.

Hana and Rukia both froze.

"Why did you stop her?!" Hana cried.

Ichigo sliced through the tendrils that were attacking him. "Rukia... Stay back this time, I'll do this alone. You go look after Karin and Yuzu." He said calmly and sternly.

Hana looked at him confused.

"Don't talk nonsense! He's strong! I told you! For more than 50 years he's eluded soul reapers-"

Ichigo cut Rukia off. "Shut up!!" He snarled. Then much quieter he said, "Please... Don't interfere..." He begged.

"If anyone would be allowed to interfere it's Hana and I don't think she should get involved..." He gripped his blade tightly. "This is my fight." He said.

Rukia ran off but Hana stayed. She refused to leave. Karin and Yuzu were in good hands with Rukia so she no longer needed to worry about them.

Ichigo still kept her from fighting but didn't force her to leave.

She wanted to know why this fight was so important to Ichigo. Why would he refuse to let her fight but say she was possibly the only other person that he would allow into this fight?

She stayed back with her hand on her blade in case she had to jump in.

Grand Fisher continued to tease Ichigo and get the upper hand on him. It was painful to watch but Hana still kept her distance from the fight. She wasn't going to jump in unless she was absolutely needed, and even then she might not be able to do anything.

Ichigo was so passionate about this fight and she knew that once something got him like this, there was no stopping him. If he didn't want Hana to interfere then he would do just about anything to stop her meaning she couldn't get involved.

Hana's teeth chewed her bottom lip as she followed the fight at a close, but safe, distance. The Grand Fisher was so focused on Ichigo that it didn't bother to take notice of her. That seemed to be good luck for her.

The hollow came at Ichigo and the boy blocked the attack with his blade but it simply wrapped its fingers around the blade. The sharp edge didn't seem to bother him as it pushed against his hand.

Hana's eyes widened as claws extended from the hollows fingers and pierced Ichigo's chest. Her brother fell to his knees, only able to support himself by his blade.

Now she was positive she had to get involved. But, this thing was so strong and she didn't know how she would be able to help. There had to be a way though.

Her eyes fell to the hilt of her blade.

_Maybe I can weaken it somehow._

She thought hard, searching for a flower meant to weaken evil and hoped that it would have an effect against Grand Fisher. Nothing came to mind and it frustrated her.

_Poison it._

The whisper in her mind came back.

Hana gulped and nodded. She silently drew her blade and gripped it tightly with both hands.

How should we do this? How would she avoid poisoning her brother as well?

_Focus._

She took a deep breath and instinctively began to move her blade so the tip moved in circles. A faint purple smoke seemed to begin to form a ring following the tip of the blade. The more circles she made, the brighter the smoke got. The compact ring seemed to swirl around itself as she watched it.

What was she supposed to do with it now?

_Push your blade forward, Force it to the hollow._

The voice that Hana recognized as Belladonna told her.

The orange-haired girl did as told and pushed the ring at Grand Fisher. Because it was so busy with Ichigo the hollow didn't notice until the smoke wrapped around its face.

"What the hell was that?!" Grand Fisher growled and looked around, his eyes unable to land on Hana at the moment.

Ichigo pushed himself up before the hollow had time to locate his older sister. He gained Grand Fisher's attention again and it forgot what happened with the purple smoke.

Hana now did her best to listen to the two, it seemed to be all that she could do for now.

"You know you'll be killed by me. Killed without even giving me a single wound." Grand Fisher taunted.

Ichigo slashed at Grand Fisher and managed to cut its head. "Shut the hell up!! I'll defeat you! Even if my arms and legs are ripped off. I swear I will defeat you!" Ichigo snarled.

Hana gulped again and shook her head to get the images of what Ichigo said out of her head.

"That's why you shall die." The hollow said darkly. Its head split and showed the image of the same young human body as before.

"You're young, therefore you're easy to anger. You're angry therefore your heart is shaken. And so, your heart is shaken, therefore your blade is dull." Grand Fisher continued to taunt Ichigo.

The image of the young human began to morph into something that made Hana's heart lurch into her throat. Her eyes burned and her throat clenched. It was hard to breathe now and perhaps this was why Ichigo said that Hana was possibly the only person that should be allowed to interfere in this fight.

This had something to do with their mother.

She found herself unable to move and simply listened to Grand Fisher.

"You're surprised. I did say that I don't remember as far back as six years." Grand Fisher stopped his taunting for a second to cough, presumably an effect of the purple smoke that Hana had sent at him. "Why is it that I could create your mother's body like this? You have to know the reason, right? That's what your face is saying!" He started up again and started cackling.

Hana could hardly register the tears rolling down her face. Seeing her mother's smiling face on the poster that her father had was one thing. Seeing what this monster had done was another thing entirely.

Grand Fisher didn't seem to notice her still and continued speaking. "You didn't realize it? When I attacked you, I only used this hand. With these claws, I looked into your memories!!" It continued to tease Ichigo.

Hana stopped listening, she couldn't stand to hear any more. She furiously wiped her eyes and tried to get ahold of herself.

She tried to play off how much she missed her mother. How much she wished that she'd had one more chance to tell the woman that she loved her. To thank her for everything that she had done for her.

But this situation, she couldn't hold it back. A part of her begged for her to run and hug the appearance of her mother. The more rational part of her kept her from moving. She knew this wasn't really her mother.

She froze again when she heard a far too familiar voice. "Isn't that right, Ichigo?" Grand Fisher spoke in her mother's voice.

Hana felt sick. This monster was using her mother's form and voice.

She felt ashamed of herself for reacting the way she did and that made her brewing anxiety attack worse.

This continued until Ichigo's voice cut through the chaos. "This isn't the kind of place to bring my mother's form into!!" He shouted.

Hana's head snapped up and she stared at her brother.

Ichigo prepared to attack but Grand Fisher brought their mother's form in front of him, halting the attack.

Hana knew then that Ichigo wouldn't be able to attack the offending hollow. She moved as quickly as she could and shoved Ichigo out of the way. She then closed her eyes and swung her sword while desperately trying to block out the voice saying "don't hurt mama."

Pain suddenly exploded from her chest and her tears fell faster as she tried to block out the pain. At least she'd managed to protect her little brother.

Grand Fisher cackled again as she hit the ground. "Oh dear, you saved the boy for now, but that doesn't help much in the long run." He continued to cackle.

Hana could hardly hear him. Her eyes met Ichigo's and she grit her teeth. "Ichigo... Make. Him. Pay." She forced out. She was fighting her hardest to keep her eyes open and to keep from crying out in pain.

She could see Ichigo struggling to find a way to reach and made herself keep speaking. The voice that came out was forced and gritty. "Don't let him use mom like this." She gasped and finally let herself lose consciousness. She could hardly pay attention to anything anymore, she couldn't focus on keeping herself awake.

All she could do now was trust that her brother would succeed in his fight.

She didn't know that Rukia came running to check on her and use her kido to heal her a bit, as much as she could. "You're going to make it, Hana." She whispered.

_Some threads refuse to break, no matter what kind of pressure is put on them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the first real fight scenes I've worked on so I'm sure that it's horrible.


	15. Mother's Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grand Fisher arc conclusion. The Red Demon has returned.  
> Originally typed in March 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Parental death, emotional manipulation, depressing moments

Ichigo lightly pinched Hana's cheek, hoping that she would wake up easily. He knew that she was going to be in a lot of pain once she did wake up, even if her chest wound had been healed. It was the same way with him after he had returned to his body.

When Hana's eyes opened, Ichigo was the first thing she saw. "You're alright." She said.

Her voice was smaller and quieter than it had been before. The closest he'd ever heard her voice sound to this was when she woke up after her heart surgery. Yet it was different than it had been then.

"Do you feel alright, Hana?" Ichigo asked.

She nodded a little bit and turned her head to look at the area that she was in. She took notice of the fact that she was back in her own body and safely assumed that the hollow was gone. "I'm a little sore but I'm alright. What happened?" She asked.

Both Ichigo and Rukia were silent and didn't answer her. They looked at each other instead of answering her. This only served to make Hana frown. She didn't want things to be kept from her.

She opened her mouth to speak but Ichigo stopped her. "Let's go see mom again." He said gently.

She hesitated for a minute before giving her brother a nod. She attempted to get up only to wince at the pain from her chest. Ichigo gave a small sigh and helped her onto his back.

It was only then that Hana noticed that it was now raining, just like it had been on this day six years ago. Neither of the siblings seemed to mind the rain though.

The siblings found themselves at their mother's grave. Hana was still on Ichigo's back. She swallowed back her tears as she replayed the memories of her mother.

Ichigo's head dipped. "I'm sorry... I wasn't able to avenge you, mama..." He said quietly.

Hana tightened her grip on her brother a little bit and then understood what either Rukia or Ichigo would tell her. The Grand Fisher got away. Not only that, the hollow seemed to be the one to have caused their mother's death.

It made sense to her now that she thought about it. That would explain what had caused her to fall unconscious that day. Grand Fisher's presence, the presence of a hollow, had been what caused it.

She wanted to hit herself for not realizing it sooner.

The mood remained somber until a familiar voice called out through the air. "Howdy."

Both siblings turned to find their father standing behind them with an umbrella over his head and an unopened umbrella in his hand. "What's this? I was wondering where you two had gone and it turns out you were here." He said and gave them a smile.

Their father walked closer and held out his unopened umbrella. "Here, an umbrella!" He yelled.

Ichigo turned away. "We don't need it. We're soaked like this, it's too late for an umbrella." He told their father. He got a poke in the head for it which was ignored. "Whether we have it or not..." He trailed off.

More and more pokes in rapid succession annoyed Ichigo enough to grab the umbrella and smacked their father with it, causing Hana to cling to his shoulders. He didn't say anything though and opened the umbrella over himself and Hana.

For a minute it was all silent. Their father stood in silence next to them before speaking up. "It sure goes by fast. Already 10 years since mom died." He said.

Ichigo glared and Hana slipped down off of his back. "Six years." Ichigo snapped.

"So close!" Their father said.

"That's not close! It's a four-year difference! In four years a primary student becomes a high school student!!" Ichigo snapped again.

Hana sighed and grabbed the umbrella before Ichigo could threaten their father with it.

"You say smart things! Daddy's surprised." Their father cooed.

"Don't be impressed!! And at least remember the year your wife died... Geez man, talking to you pisses me off!" Ichigo continued to snap at his father.

Hana smiled gently, this was normal in the Kurosaki family. She could even see a small smile on her father's face.

"Well, if you let her see your lively form like that, mom will rest easy on the other side." He said.

Ichigo looked at his father then looked away. No one said anything until a faint lighter click sounded through the air causing the siblings to look back at their father.

"Didn't you quit smoking back when Karin and Yuzu were born?" Ichigo asked.

Their father looked at them before taking a drag off of the cigarette. "She complimented me... Around the time we started dating. She said that I look cool when I'm smoking a cigarette." He explained.

His two oldest children looked at him as he spoke. He rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Now that I think about it that was the only time your mom complimented me on my looks." He leaned down to be level with the gravestone. "So every year, I smoke on this day only and in front of her." He finished and took another drag.

Hana smiled sadly. If ever she found love, she hoped to give her love a memory that they could smile at no matter what.

Things were silent between the three again until their father slapped Ichigo harshly on the back. "Hey, don't look so sad! Didn't I just tell you to cheer up?!" He asked loudly.

A single light laugh escaped Hana and she kept smiling until Ichigo spoke up. "Why..."

He sounded so broken.

"Why are you smiling? Why won't anyone blame me!?" He started asking. His voice became louder and more desperate with each question. It caused Hana's small smile to drop.

"I couldn't do anything... Not at a thing. Not when mom died... Not now either..." He said.

Hana's head tilted down a bit. How did he think she felt? She lost consciousness shortly before her mother's death. She didn't even really fight against the hollow that she now guessed caused her mother's death. Still, she didn't speak up against Ichigo as he continued on his emotional outburst.

"Why is it that no one blames me?! It's so hard! It'd be easier if you guys all blamed me!" He yelled.

Hana and their father both stared at him until her father spoke up. "Why blame you?" He asked.

The siblings looked at him again. "If I were to blame Misaki's death on you, she'd get mad at me. It's not anyone's fault that she died. He said and placed the cigarette between his teeth before he smiled. "It's just that the woman I fell in love with was a woman who could die protecting her children." He told them.

Hana wiped her eyes quietly and kept her face turned down. Her father's and brother's words faded out and she could no longer hear them.

A gentle pat on her back made her look at her father who gave her a smile before turning to walk away. "Live well, age well, go bald well, and die after me." He started saying as he walked. "And, if you can, die smiling. If I can't, I won't be able to face Misaki." He stopped and took a drag again. "Don't hesitate to act. Sadness is a cool thing to shoulder, but... You're both still too young." He finished and started walking again while he tossed a wave behind him. "I'll be waiting down below." He told them.

The siblings looked after their father in comfortable silence for a minute before Ichigo once again broke it. "You listening, Rukia?" He asked.

Hana blinked and looked at him.

Ichigo continued to speak, leaving no room for Hana to speak. "Does it look like your soul reaper powers are returning? Whether they are or not, please... Let me be a soul reaper for a while longer. I want to become strong. More and more and more. Become strong, defend against hollows, for those who get targeted." His voice picked up in volume as he spoke. "Become strong! And defeat him!" He yelled.

He turned his face up to Rukia. "Otherwise I won't be able to face mom!" He told her.

Hana hugged her brother tightly. "Ichigo, I'll get stronger too. I was truly the one that did nothing. I need to get stronger." She told him, it was almost to the point of begging to be allowed to get stronger as well.

Ichigo hugged her back and gave her a nod. He understood how she felt since she was positive that he felt the same way. Both wanted to become strong to protect others.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The red-headed woman sneered in disgust as she helped the wounded and poisoned hollow get away from the soul reaper siblings and to the destination that she was ordered to get it too. She refused to listen to his griping and threats and as soon as the job was finished and abandoned him.

She was given time to clean the disgusting creature's blood from herself before she had to go meet _Boss._

Once she was clean she took her usual route to meet him. It allowed her to enter an unsecured area near him, though not in his office because of the high chance that another person would be there. A person that she knew and a person that he was holding over her as a threat.

She took her path and quickly hid in her designated spot for the second person, who was in the office as expected, to leave. It was a person that she hated seeing within eyesight of this man. But there was nothing that she could do about it.

Once that person left, the man smirked and looked in the direction of her hiding spot. "I take it that the job has been completed?" He asked.

The woman revealed herself and nodded grimly. "Yes, the Fisher is in the pit, and both the human soul reapers survived." She said through her teeth.

The man chuckled. He loved seeing her like this. Angry beyond measure but unable to do anything about it because of his power over her. "I take it you saw her? She really is the perfect subordinate. She never asks why I do or order anything. She has such a refreshing blind faith in me." He purposely started pressing on the woman's nerves, just to see her squirm. "I suppose I have you to thank for that, considering you raised her to be this way." He continued.

Squirm the woman did. She knew that the blind faith he talked about had been achieved through careful manipulation. By causing situations that he would undoubtedly be there to rescue her from. She knew this because he made sure to tell her and that it wasn't the way that she'd raised her. She'd attempted to raise her to have some sort of doubt in some people. She'd tried to instill caution in the girl though it didn't seem to work.

She sucked a sharp breath between her teeth to try and control her spiritual pressure that desperately begged to go wild. If that happened then she would be found out. "May I leave now?" She forced out.

Her boss was still smirking at her. "I suppose you can and keep an eye out, my little _traitor._ " He teased.

The woman's scowl deepened and she left as quickly as she could. She couldn't stand to be in that man's presence anymore. However, instead of going home, she took a detour that would only serve to hurt her more.

She didn't' care about that. She had to do this, no matter how much pain it caused her.

She repressed her spiritual pressure, even more, making sure that it went down to almost nothing as she hid.

The figure she was looking for was right where she expected him to be, staring out a window and seeming to try and relax. From where she hid she could see the jewel tones of his eyes which seemed to have lost any inkling of the childish wonder he used to have.

Despite how much she hated how that childish wonder was gone, she felt pride swell in her chest as it always did when she saw him. Regret and pain always came along with it.

He had done so well for himself and that's what made her proud of him. He was strong and dutiful, just like she always knew that he would be, and seemed to hold a look about him that hinted at him being older than he was.

The woman could only stand to look at him for so long before she had to leave. She had to leave before the part of her that wanted to hug him and tell him where she'd been all these long years won her over. She couldn't do that, no matter how much she wanted to.

She made it home and ran her fingers over the one trinket she'd managed to bring from her old home. It was a scarf that her son had bought for her because she always seemed to be cold back then. A small smile came to her lips though it was very sad. She could remember how happy she'd been when she'd received the gift. It was the first gift that her son had given her.

"Mommy's proud of you and she's so sorry for everything she's had to do." She whispered.

_For many, the mother's thread is the first that they tangle with. The first thread that they come into contact with when they enter the world._


	16. A Gift to Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sweet look into a mother's past with her family.  
> Originally typed in March 2018

A small boy followed his mother around the house, he watched as she shivered and added another layer of clothing to what she was currently wearing. He had never noticed before how many clothes she seemed to wear at home.

It was only after she went back to work that he noticed. He had started following her around their home more often since he wanted to spend time with her. He was nervous about her being away from him, though his stubborn personality wouldn't let him admit it.

His older siblings found it adorable though they hadn't known either of the mother and son pair for very long, they could see how much they cared for each other. The mother had given both of them a home and someone to care about them and they both adored her for that.

To them, seeing the woman's adorable little boy follow her around simply as a way to be in her presence for a while longer brought a smile to their faces. It was a plus to having a baby brother.

The woman checked in on both of the older kids that she had taken in before continuing to cook with her biological son refusing to leave her side. He was watching his mother closely, he was concerned about her.

To him, she was working too hard. He'd seen her exhaust herself a year or so before now. It was before either of his siblings had come into the home. He didn't want to see his mother like that again.

"Mommy, you're shivering..." He spoke up while tugging on one of the overcoats that she was wearing. She gave him a smile and ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry, Kiddo. I just get cold easy." She assured her little boy. She gave him a kiss on the head before going back to cooking.

Her son refused to leave her side, he would even cuddle up with her when it was bedtime. Though that had been fairly normal before, he was now more attached than he seemed before. She was allowing it for now but knew that she would have to start making him sleep on his own before too long. She was being a bit selfish and allowing him to cuddle up with her simply because she enjoyed being close to him.

His mother hummed to him softly and ran her fingers through his hair as he fell asleep. She was no singer but that didn't stop her from singing or humming to him or the others if they asked her.

She managed to fall asleep soon after her son.

Morning came early for this household. The mother dressed for work and put a coat on over her black and white uniform before cooking for the three children. Two more people usually joined the family for breakfast.

There was a knock and the little boy immediately went to the door, but he didn't open it until he heard a familiar voice. "It's just us!" A little girl called.

The boy opened the door to reveal the girl and her older brother. The girl grinned and hugged the slightly older little boy. He grinned as well and hugged her back.

The girl's older brother closed the door and walked past the two with a smile. They'd been this way almost since they met as babies so the brother wasn't surprised. Neither was the mother.

The two children followed shortly after and took their seats before they were served food.

"Eat up everyone, we're running a little late today." The mother told the group.

Everyone ate quickly and made sure that they were ready to go. The children wouldn't follow the two elders to work. Instead, they would be taken to the house of one of the few people that the mother trusted.

All four children got hugs and even kisses on the head before the two similarly dressed young adults headed to work.

The boy watched his mother go with a small frown. The girl noticed and grabbed his hand. "Why are you frowning?" She asked.

He looked at her, still frowning a bit. "I'm scared Mommy is going to get sick again. But she keeps telling me that she's just cold." He explained to his best friend.

The girl thought for a minute and gasped. "Let's go get her a neck thing then!" She exclaimed.

The boy's face scrunched up a bit in confusion. "How do we do that? We can't go anywhere by ourselves and we can't buy anything." He reminded her.

She simply tugged his arm so that he would follow her into the house and over to the older boy. "Can we go to the market?" She asked.

The dark-haired boy looked at the two a bit shocked and tried to find an answer for them. "Uh... I think I'm the wrong person to ask." He said.

Both children frowned at him and he found himself sighing. "Okay listen, if you can get the old lady's permission then I'll take you both." He caved.

The children grinned and ran to their babysitter. They hurriedly explained what they wanted to do and the woman thought hard.

Finally, she spoke. "Your mother is a hard worker, I think she deserves something nice." She smiled and handed some money to the older boy. "Now keep an eye on them and we'll prepare lunch." She said and gestured at the older girl.

The two children cheered and followed the older boy. The older listened to the two discuss what color "neck thing" they wanted to get and he smiled a bit.

He enjoyed the warm feelings that the makeshift family gave him.

The trio made it to the market and the older boy had to run after the children as they took off in search of the perfect gift. Neither of the two children noticed that the others seemed to make a wide path for them.

Finally, the trio found a vendor whose table was covered in colorful scarves. Some had different patterns on them and others had what seemed to be tassels on the ends. Some were thin, some were thick. There were even scarves meant just for decoration as opposed to keeping warm.

The boy looked at all the choices and frowned a bit. He knew that he wanted to get one meant to keep someone warm but what scarf would be perfect for his mother?

The girl noticed and smiled. "What one do you think she'll like?" She asked.

He was still frowning. "I don't know... What one would Mommy like the most?" He asked in response.

The older boy looked down at the two children and sighed. "Listen, little boy," the young one scowled at that, "your mother will love anything you get her." He said.

The younger boy was still scowling, he didn't appreciate being called little by the older boy. "But I don't want to get her just anything..." He mumbled.

The girl squeezed his hand. "Kuro's right, your mommy loves you and it makes her happy when you think about her." She said.

She remembered the first day his mother went back to active work. He'd been so nervous and worried about her. As soon as his mother returned, he had latched onto her and told her exactly how worried he was. The woman's eyes had lit up and she cuddled him close. She had been so happy and lightly teased him. That led him to never expressing that directly to her again.

The little girl could see how happy the woman had been to see her baby boy worry about her. She knew that his mother would be just as happy now.

"I know! Get her one that will make her remember you every time she looks at it!" She exclaimed.

Kuro nodded a bit. "That's a good idea. That way she can have you with her whenever she wears it." He said.

The little boy looked at his friend and his adoptive older brother. They both had a point. He didn't get to go out with his mother often because he was a secret. The two that his mother took in were secret as well. She'd made enemies and a name for herself that she didn't want to be passed on to them.

Of course, it was only Kuro currently knew about that.

The boy looked at all of the heavier scarves again, searching for one that he thought would make his mother think of him whenever she wore it.

A white and blue one caught his eye. The blue faded into white in the middle. The blue also had snowflakes that disappeared once the blue faded into white.

He pointed at it and looked at Kuro. "Do you think that one would work?" He asked.

The older boy looked at it and thought. He didn't quite understand why the younger boy thought that one would represent him other than the white and blue. He nodded a little bit and pulled out the money he'd been given.

As he bought the scarf, he noticed the glare directed at his adoptive little brother and glared back before handing the fabric to the younger boy. "Here you go, Kid." He said.

The younger scowled. "You're a kid too." He grumbled and took the scarf.

The girl giggled. "I'm sure she'll love it." She chimed.

The three headed back with the scarf to wait for the workday to be over. The entirety of the day, the young boy refused to let go of the gift he'd gotten for his mother.

The older girl giggled a bit about it as Kuro told her everything that had happened at the market. He hadn't told her about the glaring and he almost didn't want to. The girl's smile was beautiful and that's what he wanted to see.

So in the end, he left out the glaring part. Instead, he allowed the girl next to him to continue to talk about how sweet the little boy was when he wasn't being stubborn.

Finally, the two adults came to get the children. The youngest girl greeted them first. She got a hug from each adult. She giggled slightly because she knew that the woman was going to get a gift and stood a bit off to the side to watch when it happened.

The two, slightly older children both told the woman who had taken them in about their day. Of course, they both left things out and the subject was quickly changed to the adult's day at work. The older girl was very interested in that.

The woman gave her a few details but refused to go in-depth. The man smiled at the sight and noticed the younger boy standing farther back. He looked nervous.

The man tapped his friend's shoulder to get her attention. When her crimson eyes met his molten gold, he gestured over to the youngest boy of the group. The woman's eyes found him and she excused herself from speaking to the two older children.

"You didn't do anything bad did you?" She asked while kneeling down to his level. "You look guilty or something."

The boy didn't meet her eyes and his fingers dug into the fabric behind his back. "I wouldn't be bad." He said.

"Then what's with the look?" She asked.

The boy quickly shoved the scarf at his mother. "Here! This is so that you won't get cold all the time anymore!" He all but yelled at her.

The woman blinked and stared for a minute at her son before a grin broke out on her face. "Oh Kiddo, I love it!" She cheered and wrapped the scarf around her neck.

After she had it secured, she lifted the young boy into her arms and spun him around while the others smiled at the scene. The woman kissed her son's cheek. "I have such a thoughtful son." She cooed.

The boy blushed, embarrassed, and squirmed to be put down. Once his feet touched the ground he crossed his arms. "I just don't want you to get sick." He grumbled.

His response was a few light laughs and the ruffling of his hair. He huffed and turned his head in an attempt to hide the warmth he felt on his cheeks.

The woman turned to the elderly woman that she entrusted with her life, her children. "Are we good to go, Granny?" She asked.

The elderly woman smiled warmly. "I insist that you stay for dinner." She said while looking at both of the adults. One a mother, the other a brother.

The little girl's brother looked at the red-headed woman that he'd grown close with. He was one of the few people who had ever seen the Red Demon's compassionate side.

He saw the side of her that was a mother. The side of her that cared enough to take two homeless children into a small home when she wasn't prepared. The side of her that loved not only her own son but three other children. Including his little sister.

The woman didn't notice his look, she was so busy listening to his sister talk about a trip to the market. The scarf was still secure around her neck.

That scarf was worn often after it was given to her.

It made both the mother and son happy. It made them feel closer to each other.

She even wore it on her last official mission as a soul reaper, which was the only reason she still had the scarf despite losing her home.

The scarf was now rarely worn but she did so often on the first day of winter and on the first snowfall each year. It helped her feel like she was still close to her son.

Even if it had been decades since she'd spoken to him or the other three.

_Some tangles grow to become knots, though a knot between strings can mean different things. In this case, the knot represents a family bond._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rereading this chapter makes me happy. I still love how it came out.


	17. A Caught Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bo hahaha!!   
> Originally typed in April 2018

Hana and Angel were cooking together again. Finally, Hana had gotten a chance to work on more cooking skills with her friend. The past events involving her mother and the hollow were all but forgotten at the moment as she spent time with Angel.

The two girls were making a fairly easy, but large, batch of soup so that Angel could take it home for both her brother and herself. It would be used for lunch and dinner for both for a while. Hopefully, they didn't get tired of eating it after a bit and it was able to be frozen so that they could keep it for longer.

"Did I do this right?" Angel asked while stirring the soup.

Hana checked the appearance and then took a small tasted. She gave Angel a smile. "It's great! I mean some people like different seasonings and if you or Chad wants it to taste different then you'll just have to add different seasonings to it when you reheat it." She explained.

Angel's smile lit up her face and she nodded before putting the recipe that the two had used to make the soup into a binder. The binder was her recipe book and after the girls made a recipe it would be added to it. The binder was not only organized by snack, dinner, drink, and dessert. It was also organized alphabetically in each subcategory. Hana had helped her with that as a way to make sure she could find any recipe she needed easily.

"Another thing I can make!" Angel cheered to herself.

Hana giggled a bit and turned the heat off on the stove. "Alright then, let's let it cool off, and then we can put it in containers." She told her.

Angel nodded a bit and kept smiling. She was always proud of herself when she managed to successfully cook something. "What should we do while we wait for it to cool?" She asked.

Hana shrugged her shoulders. "Dad and Yuzu are watching TV if you want to do that. Otherwise, I would probably be out in my garden." She said.

Angel looked at her confused. "Wait, it's 8, why would you be out in your garden?" She asked.

Hana looked at her and smiled. "Because it's nice to be outside at night. Even if the light from the city blocks out some of the stars. Also, I like to watch and listen for the bats." She told her.

"Oh, that's right." Angel giggled a bit and looked around the kitchen before starting to help Hana with the dishes.

Hana looked over at her. "I meant to ask if you've had any more dreams." She spoke up.

Angel didn't look up from the dishes but she nodded her head a bit. "I have..." She mumbled.

"May I ask what they've been about?" Hana asked cautiously, she didn't want to risk upsetting her.

Angel gave another nod, it was always fine for her to tell Hana her dreams. Even when she couldn't tell her brother.

"It's the same boy as always... But I guess he was sad so I was hugging him... And this time we were older than in any of my other dreams..." She kept pausing to make sure she could remember it. She sighed a little bit. "I can't remember much else about it though." She said and frowned a bit.

Hana pats her back. "That's alright, I wonder why he was sad though." She said and then smiled. "Hey, let's go draw or something." She tried to change the subject.

Angel smiled a bit again and once more nodded so the two headed up to Hana's room and doodled randomly until the soup was cool enough to store. Once it was cool enough, it was placed in containers which were then carefully placed in a bag ready to be taken to Angel and Chad's house. Once Chad came to pick her up.

Hana's father came in to check on the girls while they waited for Chad. "How are my two oldest daughters?" He chirped.

He'd taken to calling Angel one of his daughters almost as soon as he'd met her.

Hana smiled at him. "We're doing fine Dad, we're just waiting for Chad." She answered him.

Angel nodded a bit in agreement.

Hana's father nodded and sniffed the air before a grin lit up his face. "Your soup smells great girls!" He cheered.

Angel smiled brightly again, proud of herself. "Thank you, Mr. Kurosaki." She thanked.

The Kurosaki father acted hurt. "You still call me Mr. Kurosaki! You refuse to call me Dad!" He whined.

Hana rolled her eyes a bit before smiling and changing the subject in order to stop her father's whining. "So, how was your show tonight?" She asked.

Her father immediately cheered up. "It was amazing as always!" He stopped talking to do the pose and the laugh before explaining what happened in the episode. He seemed so excited.

"Oh! The next episode is airing from Karakura town!" He exclaimed.

Hana was a little shocked at that. "That's interesting, are you going to go and try to see it?" She asked.

"You bet I am! We're going to make it a family thing. Me, you, Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu!" He cheered.

Hana giggled a bit. "I hate to tell you this Dad, but Ichigo isn't going to be thrilled about that. You know he hates stuff like that show."

Her father crossed his arms. "Well, that doesn't matter. This is going to be a family bonding event so everyone is coming!" He stated loudly.

A knock came from the door causing the girls to get up before he could say any more. "Alright, we'll see how it works out." She said and answered the door.

As expected, Chad stood at the door.

"Come on in, Chad. I'll help Angel get her things real quick." She invited Chad in before going to help Angel.

Chad nodded silently and waited.

When Hana and Angel came back over to him, Hana was carrying the bag with the soup in it and Angel was carrying her school bag. Chad took the bag with the containers of soup from Hana.

Angel smiled brightly at her brother. "I really think you're going to like this soup." She told him happily.

Hana smiled more as he gave her a nod and pat her head with a small smile. She knew that Chad wasn't likely to admit to not liking something she made and that meant a lot to Angel.

"Now you two go home, eat, and then get to bed. I'll see you both tomorrow at school, okay?" She asked cheerfully.

Angel nodded and smiled. "Of course, thank you so much for helping me cook again." She bowed her head a bit in thanks.

Hana still smiled and waved her hand to dismiss it. "There's no need to thank me, I'll help you any time I can." She told her and hugged her. Once she let go of Angel she gave Chad a hug as well.

The tall boy didn't really react other than to gently pat her on the back.

When she let go, the two started heading home. Hana closed the front door and headed off to get ready for bed herself. She'd already finished school and housework that she needed to. Her garden was perfectly fine too, so she could head to bed without any worries.

After preparing for bed she watered the small lavender and aloe plants that she kept in her room before curling up under her covers where she fell asleep quickly.

Morning came and Hana managed to wake up early so that she could prepare breakfast and lunch for her family. Since there hadn't been many hollows recently, she wasn't as exhausted. She even started making lunch to take for Rukia.

Yuzu woke up next and was ready to begin breakfast, only to find Hana working in the kitchen. Breakfast was waiting to be plated and Hana was now preparing lunches for everyone that she decided to include.

"You're awake?" Yuzu asked shocked. Recently, Hana hadn't been getting up in time to do this much, or even make breakfast at all. It had caused her to worry a bit.

Hana smiled at her sister and put what was already ready into lunch boxes while still finishing up the rest of it. "Good morning Yuzu." She chirped. "I've been getting more rest recently so it was easier to get up." She explained.

Yuzu smiled a bit and started to work on dishes, which would lighten the workload that her oldest sister had taken on. "That's good. I was starting to worry a little bit." She said happily.

Hana looked at her. "I'm sorry for making you worry. I don't mean to worry anyone." She told her with a small frown.

Yuzu blinked and tried to cheer her up a bit. "Don't worry Hana! Family is supposed to worry about you, and I like cooking so it's no trouble if you would rather have me take over making breakfast." She told her.

Hana gave her a small smile and finished up with the lunches. Luckily they had an abundance of lunchboxes. This was due to Hana giving away lunch boxes and having to buy new ones, only to have the ones that she had given away be given back.

Before long, the three other members of the Kurosaki family were up. Hana plated and served breakfast to everyone. She felt nice and relaxed today. With Yuzu's help, there were only the dishes they were using now that had to be washed meaning there was no reason to rush through eating in order to get her things before school.

She listened to Yuzu and their father excitedly talk about the show that was coming to town. She might not be a fan of it, but it was nice to see those two enjoying something.

Ichigo complained a bit about it and Hana grabbed his ear, giving it a good yank to let him know she had been listening. "Be nice brat, they're enjoying it and it's causing no harm." She scolded him.

Ichigo yelped and tried to push her away. "Dammit, Hana! Let go of my ear and don't call me a brat!" He snapped.

Hana kept her serious face on, even though she wanted to laugh. "I will stop calling you a brat when you stop acting like one. Now apologize to Dad and Yuzu if you want me to let go of your ear." She pulled on it again. "And stop cussing in front of the girls!" She tacked on at the end.

Ichigo finally apologized while Karin laughed quietly. Hana tried to give her a look telling her not to laugh at her brother's pain but ended up smiling a bit. She shook her head and got up to collect the dishes.

Her father stopped her and smiled warmly. "I'll take care of those, you all just head on out to school and do a good job today." He told her.

She smiled back at him and allowed the dishes to be taken out of her hands. "Of course, thank you, Dad." She thanked and gave him a hug before going to grab her school bag.

Ichigo, who had brought his bag down with him, waited for her at the door. When Hana came back down she stopped in front of him with a smile. "Got everything you need?" She asked everyone.

The younger girls both gave her a nod. Yuzu grinned as well. "We do!" She chimed.

Ichigo chuckled a bit. "I'm good too, let's head out." He held the door open for his sisters.

Now that he thought about it, he felt a bit bad for Hana. She was very young when she stepped up and started to fill in the maternal role in the house. Other than her garden, she rarely did things for herself. He was sure that even he had more of a childhood than her, and he wouldn't be wrong.

Not only had she missed out on a lot due to a heart condition and transplant when she was little, she missed out on even more when she took up acting as a mother would. She missed school plays she wanted to be in so that she could watch Yuzu participate in her grades productions.

She turned down offers to hang out with the few friends she had in order to take Karin to play soccer.

Instead of playing with kids her age, she was making sure that neither of the twins got hurt at the park.

Now she would end up spending any money she managed to save for herself on him or the girls, no matter how badly she wanted whatever she had been saving up for.

It made him feel guilty. He should have stepped up then too, he should have helped her more. He should have gone to walk the girls home from school some days in order to allow Hana time to be a kid.

But he'd never thought of it before now, and now she had even more to deal with.

She was a high school student who took on the duties of a mother. She adopted more people into their family and took care of them as well. She occasionally babysat to earn some money and now she was training a power she just found she had and was having her soul forced out of her body every time a hollow came around. It couldn't be easy on her.

Ichigo sighed a bit at his thoughts and took her school bag from her.

Hana looked at him confused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm carrying your bag, what else could I be doing?" He asked her.

She still looked up at him making him sigh again. "You made breakfast, you made a lot of lunches... You do a lot and you deserve some help alright? I'm carrying your bag for you because of that." He explained.

Hana smiled. "You really don't have to, I'm fine Ichigo. I like doing all of this and honestly, I think I would be bored without it." She told him.

He refused to give her bag back and wouldn't say anything else about it, even when they got to school.

Though Hana got an opportunity to get her bag back once they walked in, and she had to keep from laughing too. Orihime met them at the door doing the signature pose and laugh from the show that was coming to town the next week. Her smile was so bright and happy that Hana couldn't help but smile as well.

Ichigo didn't feel the same though. He reeled back from Orihime as soon as she'd started the laugh. Though his confusion let Hana slip her bag off his shoulder.

"What a weak reaction, Ichigo. Could it be that you don't know about this?" Orihime asked.

It took him a minute to speak up. "It's Ghost Bust, right Orihime?" He asked though he knew that he was right about it.

What else could it have been?

"Bingo!" The orange-haired girl cheered. "Now let's do it together!" She threw her hands in the air and prepared to do the laugh again but Tatsuki caught her wrists. "Tatsuki?! What?! What!?" Orihime whined.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, bohaha is coming with me." Tatsuki calmly said and started walking Orihime away who was still whining.

Ichigo was silent while Hana was hiding her laughing with her hand. There was excitement about the TV event all over the school and it didn't impress Ichigo at all.

Hana pat his back. "Try to chill out, your hair will turn grey if you stress too much." She joked before making her way over to Angel and the two other girls around her.

Angel had two friends other than the usual "Ichigo" group. Rocky and Kathy, both of which were just as protective as any older sister would be. Both could give some attitude too, though that was more Rocky than Kathy.

Hana smiled at the group. "Isn't it refreshing to see everyone so excited?" She asked the small group.

Rocky crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "It's pretty annoying if you ask me." She grumbled.

Angel looked up at Rocky and shrugged her shoulders. "I think it's kind of nice. Even Chad is excited by it." She said in her usual quiet tone.

Hana smiled more and handed Angel the lunch box that she had prepared for her. "He's excited? That's an interesting change." She chimed.

There was no real way for Hana to read Chad's emotions when he didn't decide to show them, but Angel was much better at it. If Angel said that Chad seemed excited then it was more than likely true.

The Yasutora siblings could read each other better than Hana and Ichigo could with each other or the twins. Hana was almost envious of the ability and figured it would be easier to understand her siblings if she could read them the way that Angel could read Chad.

"I don't know if I'll ever understand how you can tell what he feels," Kathy spoke up.

Both Hana and Rocky nodded at her. "I may not understand how she does it, but I wish I could do it with Karin and Ichigo. Hana said and sighed a bit. "Karin tends to keep her feelings to herself and a lot of Ichigo's emotions end up being shown as anger." She explained.

Angel fidgeted a bit and glanced in Ichigo's direction. "He doesn't seem that angry." She said quietly.

Rocky smirked and scoffed a bit. "You're only saying that because you have a crush on him. The guy is almost like a raging ball of fire a lot of the time! Other times he's just boring." She said making Angel turn bright red.

Hana gave Rocky one of her "mom" looks to scold her for bringing up Angel's crush and embarrassing her and Rocky rolled her eyes.

Kathy shook her head. "I don't think he's so angry. I think he just is when you're around because you like making him mad." She said.

"There's that too," Rocky admitted.

This caused all four girls to laugh a bit.

After a minute of laughing, Kathy spoke up again. "Anyway, are any of you planning on going to this Ghost Bust thing?" She asked.

Rocky shrugged. "If I feel like it." She didn't seem to care about it at all.

Angel nodded at Kathy. "I'm going with Chad. He's going with Keigo and Mizuiro so I guess I'm going with them too." She said.

Kathy waited to speak again. "I don't think I'll go. There's going to be a ton of people there and I really don't want to deal with that." She said.

Han smiled a bit. "I can understand that. I'm going with my family but I can easily hang out with you Angel, I don't want you just to be surrounded by guys." She said.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Angel said. She was trying to keep the group from worrying too much about her.

Hana smiled brightly at her. "I want to, I'm sure Dad and the girls will have fun together and Ichigo isn't looking forward to it so he won't be any fun to be around." She explained.

Kathy put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for looking after her." She thanked the older girl.

Hana kept smiling and nodded before heading to her seat since it was about time for class to start.

She still had to give Rukia the lunch that she made for her, but that could be taken care of later.

The following Wednesday came without many interesting events. Of course, Hana and Ichigo still trained with Rukia in order to beat hollows, but that was pretty tame compared to past events.

At 7:31 in the evening, Ichigo and Hana along with her family headed to the site of the filming and were lucky to run into their friends as well.

A majority of the group greeted them with the pose and laugh. Though Angel, Rukia, and Tatsuki didn't do it along with the others. Angel smiled and waved, Rukia gave them a smile, and Tatsuki didn't give any of them a reaction.

Hana swallowed a laugh at the poses and told her family that she would be over with her friends. They weren't paying much attention to her so she was easily allowed to go.

She walked over to the girls. "This certainly looks lively." She chimed.

Rukia and Angel gave her a nod.

"Th-there are so many p-people here." Angel stuttered.

Hana rubbed her shoulder to try and comfort her. "Well, we're here too, so don't worry." She said with a bright smile.

Angel responded to her with a small smile, she wasn't paying attention to the dark-haired soul reaper that was watching them.

Rukia had been trying to observe the red-head since she'd met her, even more so since the incident with Yuuichi. She was still curious and there was no doubt in her mind that there was more to this girl than anyone thought.

Hana's questions from before did not help the soul reaper's suspicions. How badly Rukia just wanted to corner Angel and ask all the questions that popped into her head.

But, that would make her seem suspicious. It would also make Ichigo yell at her. She couldn't care less about the yelling really, it was simply that she wasn't in the mood to deal with it at the moment.

Rukia approached Hana and Angel with a smile. "Do you get nervous in crowds?" She asked. For now, she would have to settle with asking questions like this.

Angel nodded a little bit. "Not always but th-there are so many p-people here." She said.

Hana rubbed the smaller girl's shoulder again as a way to comfort her.

Rukia had more questions but for now, turned her attention to Ichigo. If Angel was shy then it wasn't a good idea to push more questions on her in a situation like this. There wasn't a very strong possibility of getting answers that way.

Hana kept her place next to Angel, simply using her presence as comfort while she listened to Ichigo when he snapped at Rukia about not knowing what was going on.

An angry-sounding wail echoed through the area causing both girls to tense up.

Hana relaxed a bit a second later. Because there wasn't pressure on her chest, she knew that whatever made the sound wasn't a hollow. That didn't stop it from being a bone-chilling sound though.

"Wh-what was that?" Angel asked. Her hands were now shaking as she held onto Hana's arm.

Hana looked at her. To her knowledge, Angel had never before the Yuuichi incident been able to see or hear hollows and other spirits.

But she had heard that noise when seemingly no one else in the crowd, minus Ichigo and Rukia of course, had.

"You heard it too?" Hana asked her quietly.

Angel gave a shaky nod and moved a bit closer to her brother.

Hana quickly searched for something to say but could come up with nothing, instead she encouraged Angel to go to Chad's side so that she could talk to Ichigo and Rukia.

_Some threads get torn because they get caught on something and refuse to get loose._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a nice relaxing outing with the family, what could go wrong?


	18. Forcing a Thread to Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Don Kanonji!  
> Originally typed in April 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Violence in this chapter

Angel clutched her brother's arm nervously. The tall boy looked down at her only to look up again when Keigo spoke up from his other side.

"What? You didn't go off elsewhere, Chad?" Keigo asked.

"Can't you hear something?" Chad asked without looking at the other boy. "It's like a strange voice..." He trailed off.

Angel looked up at her brother in shock. He'd heard the voice too! Her fingers lightly dug into the muscle in his arm. She wasn't the only one.

"Eh? Q-quit it, Chad, you're giving me the creeps. I don't hear anything..." Keigo muttered nervously. "It's your imagination, go easy in this sort of place."

Chad was silent for a minute and glanced down at Angel. He could tell that she heard it as well but didn't say anything about her hearing it. "Yeah, that's it... Sorry, it's just my imagination..." He lied to Keigo.

The wailing started again causing Angel to gulp. What exactly was that noise?

Hana ran up to Ichigo and Rukia, away from the others. "What's that voice?" She asked.

Ichigo glanced at her. "An earthbound spirit apparently. But it sounds like a hollow to me." He told her.

Hana shook her head at him. "It's not a hollow though, there's no pressure on my chest and my heart is acting fine." She responded.

"Ichigo isn't entirely wrong," Rukia spoke up. The siblings look at her, showing that they were listening to her so she continued. "He's a plus that's descending into a hollow. He's a demi-hollow." Rukia explained.

Hana bit her lip, this could go badly. There were a ton of people in this crowd and if that spirit changed into a hollow then they could all get hurt.

Even if it didn't go after the crowd, Hana was standing near the front of it and was surrounded by people. There was no way that if she were this close to a hollow she wouldn't be ejected from her body. To anyone around her, it would seem as if she suddenly died and that would cause panic as well.

She was pulled from her worries by Rukia's voice. "Look, its heart has been captured by this hospital." She said.

Hana turned to her, hardly paying attention to what she had said. "Rukia, if he turns while this crowd is here then there will be chaos." She told her nervously.

Ichigo ignored her and spoke before Rukia could say anything to Hana. "It's something similar to a hollow being nearby but he's not wearing the hollow's mask-like thing..." He said. "Plus the hole in his chest hasn't completely opened up either." He finished.

Hana was a bit annoyed at being ignored but Rukia spoke again before she could get onto her brother. "Right, the open hole in a hollow's chest is evidence that it lost its heart and turned into a heap of instincts." She answered.

The words that Hana wanted to say died on her tongue and she put a hand over her heart.

She was born with a hole in her heart and her heart stopped when a hollow was too near to her. She couldn't understand it but there seemed to be a strong connection between her heart problems and hollows.

Rukia didn't seem to notice and kept speaking. "The white mask that imitates a skull is to protect those exposed instincts from the outside world so that the heart cannot easily be reached. Neither one is necessary while one has a heart." She kept explaining.

Hana's finger's dug into the fabric of her shirt over her heart. How could her heart problems have something to do with hollows? Why was she born with a hole in her heart and ability to see spirits?

"When people die, the chain of fate that grew out of their heart disconnects from the body. Those without strong regrets in this world stay pluses as they wait for a soul reaper's guidance." Rukia continued.

Hana looked at her.

"However, those with regrets bind themselves to the focus of their regret by the chain of fate. If the focus is a person then they become "possessed spirits". If the focus is a place, they become "earthbound spirits"." She finished.

Hana was still looking at her with a hand over her heart. Why does my heart react to hollows? What does this mean? Ran through her head. For a minute she blocked out the sounds around her. Something wasn't right with this and she couldn't figure out what it was.

Her heart gave a heavy thump, pulling her out of her thoughts and bringing the sounds around her back as she gasped a bit.

Ichigo seemed to notice this and turned his attention away from the greedy spirit that was chained to the hospital. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

She nodded a little bit and went to tell him not to worry when the announcer spoke up.

"SILENCE PLEASE, EVERYONE!!" They were getting ready to begin the broadcast.

Rukia was excited to see what was about to happen but Hana and Ichigo were not.

Hana was nervous and turned to look at Ichigo again. "I'm getting a really bad feeling... I think I'm going to get out of the crowd." She told him.

Ichigo nodded a little bit. "Be careful, you don't know how far away you have to be so that it won't affect you if it turns into a hollow." He warned her.

The answer that she gave him was a stiff nod before she walked out of the packed crowd in order to find a hidden place. Once she did she leaned against a tree and tried to relax.

_You're not wrong..._

Hana recognized Belladonna's nearly silent whisper as it sounded in her mind.

The orange-haired girl looked around once more to make sure that no one could hear her or would pay attention to her before speaking. "What do you mean?" She asked.

_You are connected to hollows. It does have to do with your heart._

Belladonna answered.

"How is it connected? Why is it connected?" Hana asked. She didn't get an answer though as Belladonna had gone completely silent.

Hana sighed a bit, at least she had gotten some answers. The hole in the heart had something to do with hollows and why she was ejected from her body whenever one was near.

But she had more questions about it. Why was she born with it? Why did it just now, other than the day her mother died, begin affecting her?

She tried to stop thinking so hard and looked over to the cheering crowd where the show host was parachuting down onto the scene and making a huge spectacle of himself. It made it easy to see why he was popular. He was a bit annoying but he got attention which got ratings.

The crowd cheered the catchphrase along with him once he landed and it made Hana laugh a bit. She felt sorry for Ichigo who hated the show and was in the middle of it all.

Not even a moment later a sharp pain ripped through her chest. She clutched at her shirt and tried to keep her breathing steady while her heart thumped heavily. This wasn't something that she would ever get used to but it was a bit concerning how unaffected she was by this anymore.

Something was happening with the demi hollow and she knew it. She could hear it screaming in pain.

The pain in her chest continued and she bit her lip in order to keep any noise from coming out and attracting attention to her as she fell to the ground. Her body was once again trying to force her soul out like it always did when she was close to hollows.

Hana found herself standing by her body able to breathe and without pain in her chest once more. It was always a relief after so much pain.

What could she do now? Normally she would immediately go to help Ichigo but there was a large crowd around and while they didn't seem to be paying attention to the seemingly dead girl on the ground, she couldn't risk her body being found.

A chuckle from behind her made her jump. "It looks like you have a problem." A man spoke up cheerfully.

Behind her stood four people. Two men, one girl, and one boy. She didn't recall ever seeing them before.

"You... you can see me?" She asked.

The blond wearing white and green chuckled light-heartedly. "Indeed I can my girl. Seems like your brother is in trouble as well." He said with a smile.

Hana stared at him confused. "How do you know I have a brother and how do you know he's in trouble?" She asked.

"Well let's just say I've met your brother and he's a pretty interesting person. Also, I can see the security guards pinning him down from here." He said.

Hana didn't get a chance to say anything else before the taller man stepped forward and lifted her empty shell of a body over her shoulder. It made her even more confused.

The blond just kept smiling. "Not to worry, we'll take care of both of your bodies while you deal with this mess and can get back to them." He said cheerfully.

Hana was still confused but followed the group into the crowd as he made his way toward Ichigo. Once he reached the pinned down boy he slammed the end of his cane into his back. The action forced the Kurosaki boy's soul from his body.

Hana ran and helped him up. "What's going on?" She asked.

Ichigo pushed himself up, ignoring his sister once again. "The sandal hat guy!? Why's he here...?" He asked.

"Don't space out. You're in a hurry Kurosaki!" The blond told them and waved his fan as if dismissing them.

"That's right!" Ichigo yelled and took off.

Hana growled to herself and followed him. "Ichigo! Tell me what I missed!" She shouted.

"He's forcing the demi-hollow to become a hollow!" He shouted back at her before tackling the show host away from the spirit.

Hana went to go to the spirit and make sure that it was okay. The hole in its chest was much larger and it made her nervous as she looked around. Before there were many chains that connected the spirit to the hospital but now there was only one.

For now, it seemed stable so she turned away from it and toward Ichigo and the show host, Don Kanonji.

The man pushed himself up. "What's with you boy!? Why do you interfere!? You're just a ghost!" He shouted at Ichigo, not seeming to notice Hana at the moment.

Ichigo and Hana shared a look before looking back at Don Kanonji. "You can see us?" They asked in unison. This caused Kanonji to notice Hana as well.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?! The charismatic medium of the new-" Kanonji started yelling. Ichigo cut him off by covering his mouth but it didn't work that well.

Hana went to check on the demi-hollow again and noticed the last chain beginning to vanish. "Um... Ichigo, we have a problem!" She called.

Ichigo looked up to find the problem and his eyes got wider. "No way, it's too late!" He shouted.

All three braced themselves as the last chain snapped, creating a flood of dust and wind. When they were able to see again they found the spirit gone.

"He disappeared?" Ichigo asked, more to himself than anyone else.

"He didn't become a hollow?" Hana added.

But something wasn't right, she felt it in her gut.

From behind them, they could hear Kanonji shouting in victory over successfully releasing a wandering spirit and helping it cross over.

Ichigo looked at him while Hana only glanced, she was still looking around. "Seriously? He really took care of it with that?" Ichigo asked.

Hana, seeing nothing, prepared to relax when Belladonna's voice stopped her.

_Do not drop your guard! The hollow is here!_

Though it seemed like she was yelling, her voice still sounded like a whisper.

Hana grabbed the hilt of her blade and her eyes once again examined the area around them. She saw nothing but continued to look and did so until Rukia distracted her.

"Above you! Look up!" Rukia shouted.

The Kurosaki siblings did so and saw the hollow begin to materialize on the roof of the hospital. It started forming from its hands and its body slowly followed.

When its head formed it still didn't have a mask but it still screamed in pain. As it screamed it because secreting something from its now blank eyes and its mouth. The white material that was secreted began to form the mask of what appeared to be a frog based hollow.

Ichigo was handling explaining things to Kanonji while Hana refused to turn her attention away from the hollow.

She was becoming more and more annoyed with Kanonji but blocked it out for the sake of keeping an eye on the hollow above them. Her eyes met the beast's empty eyes and her hands twitched on the hilt of her blade. She knew that if any of them made a move, then the hollow would move as well.

Kanonji didn't seem to get the same feeling as her and pushed past her.

That was it that was what signaled the hollow to attack. Using its frog-like rear legs it propelled itself away from the building and downwards toward the three.

"Incoming!!" Ichigo shouted. He ran to intercept the hollow but Kanonji pulled him back, forcing him to fall to the ground.

"Runaway you two! Leave this to me!" Kanonji shouted.

"What are you doing, you moron?!" Ichigo snapped and gripped his blade.

Hana grit her teeth and drew hers. "Don't write us off as being unable to do anything!!" She snapped.

The hollow caught Ichigo's blade instead of digging its teeth into Don Kanonji and Hana took the mere second before her brother sent it flying to deal a bit of damage to it herself. She managed to land a single, shallow slice before it was sent flying away from them.

"Boy...? Girl...? Why didn't you run away!!?" Kanonji snapped at the two.

"The same to you, idiot!! Hurry up and run!!" Ichigo shouted back at him.

Hana groaned in annoyance but could understand Ichigo's frustration with Kanonji, he frustrated her as well.

"Me, run away!? What are you saying?! I won't run away! I can't run away!" Kanonji continued to shout.

Both Hana and Ichigo looked at him in confusion, being momentarily distracted from their task.

"What do you mean you can't?" Ichigo asked.

Before he could be given an answer, the hollow showed itself behind him and prepared to attack. Luckily, Ichigo's reflexes were fast enough to allow him to block the attack and stop it from getting either him or Kanonji.

_Don't try to force someone to let go of something before they're ready, it can cause more damage than you might think._


	19. Feeling Like a Hero!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fight the frog! Fight the frog!  
> Originally typed in April 2018

Angel watched the scene before her with wide eyes. She could clearly see Ichigo and Hana fighting a frog-monster.

The monster's white face seemed to spark some sense of familiarity like she'd seen it before. Though in all of her life, she couldn't remember ever seeing something like that.

"Chad...?" She asked quietly to get his attention.

He didn't tear his eyes away from what he could see. He could only see faint outlines of what was going on but he had a good idea of what was going on. Instead of looking at her to show that he was listening, he hummed.

"You can see that right?" Angel asked timidly.

Chad nodded his head in response. He had already figured out that she could see something as well. It was obvious by how she'd tried to get his attention. He didn't have any idea how clearly she could see everything though.

They watched as Don Kanonji was shoved out of the way of the monster and once it recovered from hitting the hospital wall, Ichigo dragged him away by his coat.

Hana was keeping pace with Ichigo easily as they ran from the hollow. Her soul seemed much fitter than her body was.

The trio threw themselves through a window into the abandoned hospital.

Angel gulped, something was telling her to run in and fight the monster even though she had no idea how to fight. The cautious and timid side of her won and she didn't move from her spot.

Inside the hospital, Ichigo threw Kanonji down the hall. "Give me a break!! Since earlier, all you've been saying is "I can't run away!" I don't get the reason!" Ichigo started yelling. "Why should I run away and you shouldn't?! Explain!!" He demanded.

Hana allowed this to happen while she kept an eye out for the hollow. Her blade was still drawn and gripped tightly in her hands. She still wasn't overly familiar with using the blade to fight but she felt more comfortable with it in her hands.

Don Kanonji pointed an accusing finger at Ichigo. "That is the exact same thing I was going to ask you!!" He snapped.

That didn't please Ichigo very much. "I'm the one asking the question here!" He shouted.

Kanonji seemed to calm down quite a bit. "Okay..." He mumbled.

Hana was a bit shocked at how compliant Kanonji was at the moment but refused to stop keeping watch for the hollow.

"You've got some reason for saying that, right? Why can't you run away?" Ichigo asked.

Hana looked at them again, she was very curious about Kanonji's answer.

"That is because..." Kanonji paused, seeming like he was deep in thought. "That's because I am a hero!" He said very seriously.

Ichigo deadpanned and Hana facepalmed.

"That's right..." Kanonji continued. "Normally, I am a pacifist who does not desire battles. However, as a hero, I cannot turn my back on the enemy." He said very proudly.

Hana put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder in order to stop him from punching the man. He sighed heavily.

"Boy... Boy...." Kanonji tried to get their attention, rather he was trying to get Ichigo's attention but got Hana's as well. "Do you know how much the viewer's rating is for my show?" He asked.

Hana shrugged and Ichigo muttered, "I don't want to answer that."

Kanonji ignored their reactions. "That is correct! 25%!! Indeed one out of every 4 people in the nation is watching!" He shouted.

Ichigo seemed to get more upset but didn't say anything.

"And, a majority of those viewers are small children." Kanonji continued.

Both Ichigo and Hana dropped any annoyed expression that they were wearing when they heard that.

"Every week, when it is my time, they stick to the TV. They watch my actions in the comfort of their families after dinner..." He continued. "To them, I'm a hero... Children watch my actions and their hearts leap."

Hana found herself smiling a little bit. It seemed sweet of him so far.

Kanonji started speaking again. "They see me stand up to evil spirits, and they know what courage is!" He said proudly.

That pride lessened a moment later as he continued talking. "Do you two understand? With them watching, I can't run away from the enemy." He said.

Ichigo was impressed by what he said.

That didn't last long though since Kanonji started speaking again. "Right!! Now that you know, I'll get back to the meeting place and fight that monster!" He shouted.

Ichigo and Hana both grabbed his coat. "You can't do that!" They shouted.

"Why not?! I don't' want to fight in a place with no TV cameras! Let's go!" Kanonji shouted back.

"What happens if you drag the crowd out there into it? There are little kids in that crowd and this thing is dangerous! I can guarantee you that you won't be seen as a hero if you allow an audience member to get hurt at one of your tapings!" Hana tried to talk some sense into him.

"That's right! Protecting your fans is also a hero's duty!" Ichigo joined in.

Kanonji finally calmed down and listened to the siblings.

"That thing out there is called a hollow. He goes after souls with high spiritual pressure to eat. To put it simply, souls with high spiritual pressure are us and the souls of guys like you!" Ichigo laid down firmly.

Hana glanced around the empty hallway while Ichigo started explaining more to Kanonji. She wandered the hallway a bit farther down from the other two, she was a bit curious about the place.

A loud noise came from Kanonji and Ichigo's direction making her rush back to them.

The frog hollow had come from below them, though the old hospital floor.

"It's here!" Ichigo yelled and went to swing his sword at it, only for the blade to get caught in the ceiling of the narrow hallway.

Hana growled a bit and swung her shorter, seeming more aerodynamically designed blade at the hollow but it dodged.

"That's something you didn't think about! Your massive fucking sword!!" She shouted at her brother.

"Yeah, I noticed that!" He yelled back only to squeak in surprise when it shot a type of gunk at his hands and made them unable to move.

"Well, that's interesting..." Hana mumbled.

Ichigo was stunned for a moment before growling angrily. "All right! Come and get it!! I'll take you down with just my legs!!" He shouted and went to kick at the hollow.

Before the charging hollow could make contact with the other, the hollow was intercepted by Don Kanonji shoving his staff into its mouth.

Hana ran over to Ichigo and tried to get the sticky substance off of his hands.

"Are you hurt, boy? Kanonji spoke up.

Ichigo blinked. "Quit it, Kanonji! Runaway! You can't win against that thing!" He tried to talk some sense into Kanonji.

"I know that," Kanonji spoke. "I have abilities..." His cane began to crack, getting Hana's attention.

"Mr. Kanonji, your cane is-!" She tried.

He cut her off. "I can understand the difference between myself and the enemy. However, boy, your ideas made an impression on me!" He explained loudly.

Hana was conflicted, she wanted to help Kanonji but she also felt the need to help Ichigo get free.

Ichigo was too busy listening to Kanonji to attempt to stop her.

"The way of fighting where one thinks of people's safety first indiscriminately... Your way of fighting is befitting a hero!" Kanonji said and looked at the two. "Allow me to call you two Battle Buddies." He said almost fondly.

Ichigo almost scoffed. "Nah... No thanks." He told him.

Kanonji didn't listen though. "Battle Buddies, allow me to die protecting you!!" He shouted.

Hana immediately turned away from Ichigo and started running for Kanonji, he quickly shoved her back in an attempt to "protect her.

"What are you doing?!" She screeched.

Kanonji struck a pose. "Kanonji-style's final ultimate technique!! Kanon ball!" He yelled and opened his closed fist to reveal a tiny ball of energy.

Both Kurosaki's were confused but it was Ichigo that spoke. "What's that? You're going to do something to the hollow with that thing?" He asked then a moment later Ichigo realized that the ball was aimed at him. "What do you plan to do with that?!" He cried out, a bit worried he was about to be hit with something.

Kanonji ignored him and sent the tiny ball toward Ichigo with a yell.

Both siblings watched as the ball slowly puttered toward Ichigo then took a turn upwards right in front of him. Both were still highly confused but then shocked when the ball hit the ceiling and the area around Ichigo's stuck blade exploded.

The blast successfully freed Ichigo's blade and Hana cheered a bit.

Ichigo joined in, "Well done Kanonji!! Leave the rest to me!!" He shouted and charged forward.

The hollow roared and ignored Kanonji to go after Ichigo. It all but ran over the poor man who had collapsed.

"I'll take care of Kanonji!" She called to Ichigo.

Ichigo didn't respond to her, he was too busy trying to figure out how to fight the hollow with his hands still stuck to the hilt of his sword.

Hana lifted Kanonji with his arm around her shoulders. It caused her to grunt because the man was much larger and heavier than her. It also didn't help that he kept yelling and cheering at Ichigo.

That was until the hollow flung itself through the wall with Ichigo's blade, still stuck to his hands, now embedded in the hollow's shoulder.

"Ichigo!!" Hana shouted. She ignored Kanonji's yelling in her ears until he addressed her.

"Girl, help me play this off." He whispered to her. It was then that she noticed the helicopter hovering around.

She nodded in agreement with him and helped him straighten up.

"Damn that bad spirit! You escaped to the roof!!" He shouted loud enough for the people around to hear him.

Hana grunted and supported his eight as he posed, and continued shouting. "Don't you dare think that you can escape from me!" He shouted.

When he went to step, Hana went with him. He leaned more heavily on her once he was out of sight.

"To the roof then?" She spoke up. "Your fans need to see you fight this hollow." She encouraged.

Kanonji nodded sternly and the two headed up the stairs as quickly as they could.

By the time they got to the roof, Kanonji was rested enough to stand on his own. He slammed the door to the roof open. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Boy!" He shouted. This caused the hollow to turn to him which caused Hana to grip her blade.

The shaky man huffed. "It's just too bad... I'm already using all my energy just to keep standing!" He announced to Ichigo.

"Kanonji, make sure you put on a show!" Hana yelled and rushed in front of him as the hollow moved.

Ichigo acted at the same time and the siblings swung at the hollow at the same time sending the beast flying into the roof railing.

Hana joined her little brother in front of the downed hollow.

"Sorry," Ichigo apologized, "it's over." He sliced down through the hollow's mask.

It had been defeated but it didn't disappear. While Ichigo watched and explained what had caused the monster to appear to Kanonji, Hana stepped closer to the spirit.

She knelt down and placed a hand on his head. His eyes met hers and she smiled. "I don't want you to worry about this place anymore. You're going to go to a place where you can be anything else. Have some fun but don't worry about the material possessions and money, alright?" She asked gently.

The hollow didn't respond or react to her or her smile before it disappeared. She smiled gently, hoping that he could make something nice of himself on the other side. She also hoped that she'd been of some comfort to him right before he left.

He turned around to see Kanonji talking to Ichigo. It seemed as if he'd said something offensive to her brother and it made her laugh a bit. Though she was a bit relieved that Kanonji had seemed to have forgotten about her.

She casually made her way down to the ground level in order to find the blond and the others who currently had possession of her and her brother's body.

It should have been a bit creepy but she had no choice other than to trust him at the moment. Once she reached them, she entered her body and stretched, once again getting used to the feeling of being in her own body.

"You should be more careful." The blond spoke.

Hana looked at him confused. "I was careful." She told him.

He shook his head. "I meant with your body, this is putting an awful strain on your heart." He said.

Hana was silent for a minute before she spoke again. "I'm fine, you don't need to worry about that." She said before walking away.

Maybe there were more connections than anyone thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these notes dude. So far my favorite quote from this chapter is "Your massive fucking sword!" I quite literally yelled that at the tv watching this episode.


	20. Have Some Fun Once In A While!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the Don Kanonji taping.  
> Originally typed in April 2018

The large group of students got called into the office the day after the Ghost Bust incident.

Tatsuki, Orihime, Rukia, Hana, Angel, Ichigo, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chad all stood in the office listening to one of the teachers yell at them.

"I can't freakin' believe this!! Do you guys have any idea what you've done?!" He shouted.

Angel hid behind her brother in an attempt to escape.

"Take a look at this!!" The teacher continued. He now had an image of Ichigo being held back by security on the TV. "It's an image that aired nationwide from a live broadcast TV show that filmed in our town yesterday! Nationwide!!" He emphasized.

He turned all of his attention on Ichigo, who wasn't really paying attention. "Well then, Kurosaki, do you have anything to say when you look at this? Hmm?" He pushed for an answer from him.

Ichigo hesitated for a minute before speaking. "Looks a lot like me, doesn't he?" He asked.

Hana bit her lip so that she wouldn't let out a small laugh at her brother's response.

"Every inch of him is you!!" The teacher shouted and grabbed the collar of Ichigo's shirt.

Ichigo kept a fairly blank face. "It's my twin brother, separated at birth. Indeed, I never thought we'd be reunited this way." He said in a flat tone.

Hana turned her face away from them. She really shouldn't be encouraging this sort of behavior but the immature side of her wanted to laugh.

"You seriously underestimate teachers. With this image going around, do you know how much shame you have brought to the school?!" The teacher continued to shout.

Tatsuki decided that she had enough and spoke up. "Mr. Kagine." She called.

The teacher turned to her. "What is it Tatsuki?" He asked, not once letting go of Ichigo's shirt.

"I understand you called us here because Ichigo and Rukia appeared on TV, but I think there was no reason for you to call Orihime and me!!" Tatsuki attempted to reason and free both herself and Orihime from the man's torment and punishment.

Hana agreed with her. Everyone other than Ichigo and Rukia should have been left out of it. She would include herself if she could actually be seen by normal people on that tape.

"But you girls were with him." The teacher shot back in an attempt to keep the two girls there.

Tatsuki wasn't having any of it and put her hands on her hips. "Unintentionally! While we were on our way there, we just ran into Rukia, who the guys invited. So, we have nothing to do with it!" She defended herself.

Hana looked at the two but stayed quiet. Sure she could reason that she wasn't actually involved. She could use her heart problem as an excuse and tell the teacher that she had gone to the back of the crowd because she wasn't feeling well, but she wasn't going to bring it up.

The school already knew about her heart condition, due to her having missed almost a year because of it. She didn't want them to pay more attention to her because she mentioned her heart acting up. She didn't want to be excluded from anything like she used to be and using the heart excuse would only cause that.

Keigo started to whine at Tatsuki. "It's a lie! I invited Orihime and Tatsuki too!" He cried.

Tatsuki refused to look at the crying boy. "Please don't trust him. He's prone to delusions." She responded.

Chad and Angel remained silent like Hana, Rukia, and Mizuiro so far. Hana moved over to Angel and smiled gently.

Angel looked up at her but didn't smile back. She was nervous and upset about the yelling.

Hana ignored the commotion around her and pat the younger girl's back. "You did nothing wrong, so don't worry." She told her.

The red-head looked at her again and nodded a bit. She knew that she didn't do anything wrong, she just hated all of the yelling. It was nearly enough to convince her that just existing in this space had broken some rule and that she deserved to be punished for it.

Hana pulled the smaller girl into a hug and smiled more. This caused Angel to relax a little bit more.

Both of the girls squealed when Chad lifted them up. With them in his arms, he rushed over to the window with the other boys and took off, not putting them down.

Hana laughed a bit at the absurdness of the situation. "Thanks for the rescue, Chad!" She cheered.

This was actually kind of fun.

The entire group met up again after school. Hana smiled when she saw them all together because it made her think of what had happened earlier.

Keigo was more than happy to have escaped. "Oh man, we made a clean escape and got to live happily ever after." He sang. "Every bit of it was all thanks to Rukia!" He cooed a bit at the dark-haired soul reaper.

Rukia acted embarrassed. "Oh my, it wasn't much really." She dismissed.

Ichigo glared. "Moron, don't praise her. She was going to sell just me out." He grumbled.

"But, thanks to Rukia's acting, you escaped too." Tatsuki pointed out.

Hana nodded in agreement. She was trailing behind her brother so she didn't think he could see her, but she did it anyway and then spoke. "You're a great actor, Rukia." She praised.

Rukia threw a grin back at her. "Thank you, Hana." She said happily.

Ichigo glared even more.

Tatsuki stretched her arms out in front of her. "But, it's such a shame. After all, if they were going to get mad at me all the same, I should have done something noticeable to get on camera too. Then I could have shown off my voice and been scouted by a big-time talent scout!" She said happily.

Hana laughed a little bit. "Don't worry, Tatsuki! You'll get noticed for your voice someday." She grinned.

Tatsuki grinned back and gave her a thumbs up. The two shared another laugh and Hana skipped down a few steps.

"You know, I should be upset by all of this reckless behavior, but I'm actually enjoying it," Hana said after another minute.

Mizuiro looked at her. "I'm not surprised by that. You act like an adult all the time but you're really just a teen, like us. So it's completely normal for you to enjoy having some fun like this." He told her and smiled as well.

Hana nodded. "I guess you're right about that, it's nice to just act like this sometimes."

Angel smiled, it was nice to see Hana like this. While it wasn't really fun for the smaller girl, she understood that it could be fun to others.

The group parted ways and went to head to their homes or whatever they would usually do after school.

Hana let Ichigo and Rukia go home without her as she decided to head out and do a little shopping for fun. She bought a small birdhouse for her garden since the old one could use an upgrade but that was it for her buying things for herself.

On the way home, she did pass other shops though and at once she found some cute little barrettes that she thought Yuzu would like. She smiled and bought them for her. Now the only problem was that she needed to get Karin something too, and Karin was harder to shop for than Yuzu.

She wouldn't want barrettes or anything like that.

Hana frowned a bit to herself and wandered around the shops again searching for something that her dark-haired sister would like. Eventually, she settled on a keychain with different sorts of sports balls on it. Surely this was something that Karin would like.

With that done, she officially headed home.

Upon arriving at her home Hana found a fancy convertible parked out front and the one and only Don Kanonji tugging on the front door while Ichigo held it shut.

With a sigh, she started heading up to the door, ready to force Ichigo to open it. She didn't have to though, Yuzu barreled over Ichigo and opened the door for the man.

Hana laughed lightly and pat Yuzu's head as she passed her into the house and then stopped by Ichigo who was still on the floor. "Try not to get between that girl and her idols, huh?" She asked playfully.

Ichigo was scowling a bit but decided to answer her. "Yeah, I guess so. Apparently, he was here to recruit me." He said.

Hana kept smiling but stopped and looked over to Rukia when she heard a familiar beep. "It's a hollow. Let's go." Rukia whispered.

Hana placed her bags in a safe spot off to the side in the hall and stood straight. "She's right, let's go." She said.

Rukia nodded and Ichigo exited his body. Then the three of them took off, ignoring Kanonji who yelled after them. Instead of addressing the man, they just kept running, hoping to find the hollow before it caused any damage.

As they ran, Rukia brushed shoulders with a red-haired woman who was walking down the street. The soul reaper girl shouted an apology without looking at who she ran into and kept running along with Ichigo and Hana.

The woman she had bumped into looked after the three and shook her head. At this point, there was no use following them. Instead, she continued to walk with her hands in her pockets.

She was taking a risk walking around the way that she was but at the same time she didn't need to worry. She was currently classified as dead after all. There was also the fact that if a soul reaper were to recognize her she was still hiding her spiritual pressure and all she had to do was pretend that she couldn't see the other soul reaper.

But, the only soul reaper that she knew of being in the area had just run past her without paying attention and hadn't recognized her at all.

She supposed that she should have been relieved but it was to be expected. Most new soul reapers wouldn't recognize her if they saw her since she'd been gone for a long time and they had never seen her before.

She again felt guilty for what she was being forced to do. Having to spy on the young soul reaper and the friends that the girl was making. She wasn't sure what would happen to those three, but couldn't afford to worry about it.

As long as she did her job, then her children would be safe.

With another sigh, she headed into the park. She was avoiding going home for as long as possible on the chance that _He_ would be there waiting for her report or something else. Something she considered worse.

_Fun is something everyone needs, but not something that everyone gets._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was at this point that I realized that I seemed to be unintentionally making Hana/Chad a ship in this story on accident. I'm not disappointed by that. It's actually quite fun.


	21. The Broken Pager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rukia needs her phone fixed and we meet someone new.   
> Originally typed in May 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost feel like I should put a warning each time Hana has a heart scare.

The trio of soul reapers, the oldest Kurosaki siblings and Rukia, continued in the direction that Rukia's soul pager directed them. Hopefully this time, there would actually be a hollow. Recently the group had encountered a problem, there were usually no hollows when they arrived where they were supposed to.

As they got closer to the area, Hana noticed something and stopped. Ichigo and Rukia never noticed the same thing as her and so kept running.

The problem was that they were now close enough to the reported area that Hana should have been feeling the effects of a hollow's presence. Yet, her heart was beating normally and she was breathing fine.

She'd been noticing this a lot in the past week, as long as they'd been getting hollow reports and there weren't any hollows once they got there. She was always the first one to notice and when she tried to speak up, she'd been ignored.

Hana sat down on the nearest bench. "Belladonna... What's going on?" She asked quietly.

Honestly, she wasn't expecting an answer. She often asked the sword spirit things when she felt the need to, she couldn't always get an answer from her. It seemed as if her questions didn't always get through. Well, it was that or maybe Belladonna just didn't want to answer her.

 _I'm not sure, it's odd though._ Belladonna answered within Hana's mind. It seemed as if her question had gotten through this time.

Hana sighed a little bit. This wasn't making any sense to her and it was causing tension between Rukia and Ichigo. That tension annoyed her and she'd started snapping at the two occasionally.

She stayed on her bench and waited for Ichigo and Rukia to notice that there wasn't a hollow and return to this spot.

It was a few minutes later when they came back, arguing about the soul pager again. Hana looked up at the two. "No hollow, huh?" She asked flatly, she wasn't really worried about their answer since she already knew it.

Ichigo huffed and nodded. "Her damn machine must be broken." He grumbled.

Rukia crossed her arms and scowled at him. "I told you, it can't be broken!" She snapped.

Hana didn't say anything at first, only stood up, and brushed dust particles off her pants. "I think that the next time we do this, you two should pay attention to me when we start getting close to where the hollow is supposed to be. Remember, my body kind of reacts to their presence." She said coldly.

This whole thing was annoying to her too.

Ichigo grumbled a bit and nodded. "Right... Well, let's get home and go study. You still need my help studying math?" He asked his older sister. The annoyed tone in his voice was gone now.

"Yeah, if that's not too much trouble for you," Hana said. Her tone lost its edge as well. It was because she didn't want to push Ichigo too hard while he was studying.

The three started heading back to the Kurosaki house as the siblings talked.

"It's no problem, I was waiting to work on the math section with you anyway. I know you have trouble with it." Ichigo explained.

Hana found herself smiling. Though she didn't enjoy studying, let alone studying math, she was grateful for her brother's offer of help. "Thank you, Ichigo."

The younger of the two siblings, and the youngest of the group, simply nodded. He felt like helping Hana study was the least he could do to help her. It really was nothing compared to how much she had done for him since their mother died.

When the group arrived home, Rukia disappeared like she always did and once Ichigo re-entered his body, Hana was questioned by the rest of the family about where she ran off to. She didn't have the luxury of having a mod soul at the moment. For some reason, Rukia hadn't gotten her one.

Hana played off the questions by saying that Angel needed her help with something and before the girls could question her more, she gave them the presents she'd bought about a week ago. She'd ended up forgetting that she'd bought them when she got home due to the Don Kanonji incident. Then with all of the false hollow reports, they'd remained forgotten until today.

Yuzu squealed and hugged Hana. "Thank you so much!" She cheered.

Hana hugged her back, happy that Yuzu enjoyed her gift. "It was nothing really, I saw those and thought you'd like them." She said.

Karin stopped examining her keychain after a minute and looked up at her orange-haired sisters. "You didn't have to get me anything you know... But that doesn't mean I don't like it, thank you." She said.

Hana pat Karin's head with a smile. "You're welcome."

After dinner, Hana took a quick bath and then prepared to study with Ichigo. She was slowly getting better at math but wasn't quite good enough to not worry about studying it before tests.

They were lucky that there weren't any other hollow calls that night and they were able to finish studying early enough for both of them to head to bed at a reasonable time. That was despite the fact that Kon kept interrupting they're studying with complaints.

School the next day was grueling for all of the students. It was final exam time which was more than stressful for many of them.

Once again, the Kurosaki's got lucky and there were no hollow calls during their exam time. It was both a relief and a break from the false hollow reports that they'd been dealing with.

When exam time ended, Hana stretched out her muscles and rubbed at her temples. The math portion had been very hard for her, even if she'd thoroughly studied it with Ichigo throughout their free time in the last week.

The quiet was broken and her attention snapped to Keigo when he tossed his pencil in the air. "It's over!!" He sang and then let his face hit the desk. "And I'm dead!" He cried.

Mizuiro, who was collecting the tests, hardly looked at him. "Looks like crap, well I'm no better." He tried to cheer his friend up.

Ichigo walked over to the two. "Quit worrying!" He snapped. "Final exams don't hold a lot of meaning in one's life." He tried to advise the two.

Hana stood and grabbed her bag before simply standing to get used to being on her feet again.

Keigo produced tears, whether they were genuine or simply for the drama, no one really knew. "Well said! That's our Ichigo! Let's share in the pain of being morons!" He cried.

Hana fought back a bit of a laugh at that.

Mizuiro shook his head and spoke up from behind Keigo. "Well, it's better to say such things after the test results come in." He said.

Ichigo and Keigo looked at him. "What do you mean, Mizuiro?" Keigo asked.

The dark-haired boy held up a sheet of paper with a ranked list on it. "Here, this is Ichigo's mid-term standings." He said.

Keigo went to take a look and noticed how many people were on the list. "C'mon, only the top 50 in our grade are on this. It's not like Ichigo would be listed here..." He trailed off as he looked at the sheet.

He found that Ichigo was in fact listed and that he was number 18 on the list.

His grades were something that Hana was proud of him for.

Hana didn't make that list though. She, maybe, made it into the top 150 students, but not the top 50, and she only achieved that with Ichigo's help.

She wasn't dumb by any means, but she tended to have some trouble with tests. Though, when compared to her, Ichigo was a genius.

She tuned out the boys and headed over to the three girls left in the back of the classroom. Angel, Rocky, and Kathy all stood there talking about the test in much the same way that the boys were.

"Hey." Hana greeted with a smile.

Rocky waved at her. "'Sup, how was the test for you?" She asked.

Hana pouted a bit. "It was tough as usual. I wish I was as good at tests as Ichigo, but I guess he got the smarts." She mumbled.

Kathy raised an eyebrow. "You're still plenty smart, there's no reason to try and force yourself to keep up with your genius brother." She said.

Angel nodded, "You know a lot of things and you're good at a lot of things." She told her older friend.

Hana found herself shrugging, her self-confidence drained for the day. "I know you're right, but I can't help but be envious. I know Ichigo works hard for his grades, but no matter how hard I try, I can't get mine any higher." She whined.

"Who gives a crap, you've still got higher grades than me." Rocky snapped.

Kathy sighed. "Rocky, you know you would have higher grades if you actually studied." She scolded. She was yet another "mom friend" in the group.

Luckily she and Hana agreed on most things and there was no conflict between them.

Rocky huffed and crossed her arms. "Yeah sure, I'm going to study while I'm working. Whatever," She got up, "I'm going to lunch. You all can join when you're ready." She went to leave and waved at the other three as she did.

It was silent for a minute after she left. Then Kathy broke it by snapping her fingers. "I got it! You can't get your grades up because you're always so busy taking care of your family!" She said with a smile.

Hana did her best not to sigh. "I don't know if that's it, but if it is then it doesn't matter. I'm not stopping taking care of them just so I can get higher grades." She pushed her bangs out of her face. "Anyway, let's not worry about it, for now, it's time for lunch." She smiled again and handed Angel the extra lunch box that had been made for her.

Angel smiled happily and went to invite Hana to eat with the trio but another voice cut her off.

"Hey Hana, you hanging around or coming to lunch with me?!" Ichigo yelled.

Hana looked over her shoulder at him. "Be right there, don't lose your head." She called back before looking back at Angel and Kathy. "Looks like I've got to go. If either of you needs anything you know you can call me." She told them before running over to Ichigo.

Kathy frowned a bit. "Is it just me, or are those two more inseparable than usual?" She asked.

"I've noticed that as well." Angel agreed, it bothered her a little bit to be honest.

Before the siblings were apart far more often than this. Hana would often join Angel, Rocky, and Kathy for lunch or just to hang out until it was time for her to work on dinner at home. Now it was very different. Whenever Ichigo called, Hana followed.

It was to the point that Angel thought that something was wrong with either one or both of the siblings. It wasn't implausible either, Hana had told Angel about her heart condition before and how Ichigo had stuck to her.

It made the red-head wonder if Hana was having heart troubles again.

Hana followed Ichigo and Mizuiro down the hallway. She felt bad about leaving her friends so suddenly but she didn't feel as if she had a choice. There was always a chance that a hollow would pop up around her and if that happened then her friends would freak out and suffer due to how Hana's body handled it like a heart attack.

She sighed softly to herself.

"Ichigo!! Hana!!" Rukia's voice flew down the hallway, followed by the shorter girl grabbing both Hana and Ichigo and dragging them with her. "Come with me for a sec!" She yelled.

Hana was shocked but Ichigo was upset. "You... You moron, let me go!! Don't you know that there are strange rumors going around about us?!" He snapped.

Hana was confused at that but didn't say anything.

"Dunno! Hollow! Complain later!" Rukia explained as shortly as she could.

"A hollow?! Is it really here this time?!" Ichigo demanded.

Rukia didn't immediately answer him and kept dragging the siblings behind her.

Ichigo got more upset. "I really won't forgive you if it's not here this time!!" He all but snarled while ignoring the fact that they closely passed by someone to the point that Hana's shoulder bumped theirs.

"I know, shut up!!" Rukia barked.

Hana ignored them for a minute and looked back at the boy that they had passed, wondering if he'd heard them and was questioning it. Though, from what she saw in the second before she was drug out of eyeshot of him, nothing about his posture had changed to indicate that he was shocked.

Much like before, this hollow report had been a dud and the three headed back to finish up the school day.

It wasn't until after school ended that they received another report and had to head out while Ichigo griped and complained about the fact that a hollow probably wasn't even there. He still followed Rukia though and Hana followed the both of them.

Once more, when they got close to where the hollow should have been, Hana stopped running and tensed her jaw in annoyance. "Guys... There's not a hollow here." She griped and crossed her arms.

Both Rukia and Ichigo stopped and looked at her before glancing at each other. They continued to the area just to make sure but had taken what she'd said to heart. They had gone on just to make sure that Hana was correct though.

They entered the alley where the hollow was supposed to be and looked around before Ichigo huffed. "Dammit, Hana was right again! There's no hollow here just like at lunch!" He yelled.

Rukia didn't respond at first and drug his body out from around the corner with only a bit of difficulty due to their size difference. "Shut up! Hurry and return to your body!" She ordered.

Hana rubbed her forehead, another shouting match was starting between the two and her patience was wearing thin. Usually, she would last much longer but between the test and this, her nerves were all but shot.

Ichigo took his body from Rukia and started slipping into it, not stopping his conversation with the soul reaper the whole time. "You better do something about this!" He demanded.

Rukia was obviously annoyed and so kept snapping back. "Are you saying it's my fault?! I pass on the orders just as I receive them from the soul pager!" She managed to snap and explain at the same time.

"So hurry up and fix that!" Ichigo snarled.

All of this yelling distracted all three of them to the point that they didn't notice a fourth person approaching them.

"Fighting among friends?" A male voice questioned. "What a disgrace."

All three soul reapers felt a jolt of shock go through them. They'd been followed and they hadn't even noticed.

Hana turned to see the boy that she'd brushed shoulders with at lunch. He was dressed very differently from the school uniform. She'd seen him in school before but usually paid him no mind since he was outside of her circle of friends.

The newcomer seemed to realize that he had the trio's attention and placed his hands behind his back. "Good evening. Ichigo, Hana, Rukia." He greeted politely. Though he was polite, his voice managed to hold contempt and malice that he directed at the group.

The three stared at him for a minute before Ichigo spoke up, as always being the first to talk. "Who are you? Those are some weird clothes, are you a priest? How do you know our names?" He rattled off questions.

The boy didn't answer and instead asked his own question. "Ichigo, you can see spirits, correct?"

Ichigo hesitates before animatedly answering him. "What?! What are you talking about?! It's not like such things can be seen!" He tried to throw the other boy off.

Before anyone could say anything else, Hana fell to her knees with a sharp gasp. Ichigo and Rukia looked at her in both horror and shock.

Hana grasped at her chest over her heart. "H-hollow!" She managed to force out.

Only seconds later, Rukia's pager went off.

Ichigo was supporting his gasping sister as Rukia read the order to him.

The newcomer hardly seemed to care what was happening in front of him and pointed in the direction of the hollow. "That way. You're hardly at a decent level of understanding, and yet you call yourself a soul reaper?" He asked coldly.

Hana could hear no more as suddenly it seemed like water had rushed into her ears making it impossible to understand what was being said. Darkness began to swim in her vision due to the lack of oxygen getting to her and that made it even harder for her to understand what was going on around her. She despised this feeling, the feeling of near death.

Her heart began to slow, ready to stop. Then, suddenly, everything cleared up. The pain was fading away, sounds slowly became understandable as the invisible water seemed to flush away, she could breathe again and the onslaught of oxygen allowed her vision to clear. "I-it's gone..." She croaked out.

Ichigo's grip on her tightened but he didn't look at her. His attention was on the stranger. "What the hell are you?" He asked.

The stranger didn't turn to them. His back had been turned when he destroyed the hollow. "Uryu Ishida, Quincy." He now turned to look at the trio with a look in his eyes that could chill you to the bone. "I hate soul reapers." He spat.

How did this boy know what soul reapers are? How did he kill the hollow? What exactly was a Quincy?

Hana's still fuzzy mind filled with questions as Ichigo lifted her into his arms when he stood. She didn't notice her brother's glare at Uryu just like he didn't notice her confused and dazed look.

She was still recovering from nearly being forced out of her body and that made it hard to focus.

Uryu continued to glare at the trio. "Don't you get it, Ichigo? What I'm saying is I hate you." He spoke the last three words slowly, making sure he put emphasis on them. They dripped with malice and ice.

_Just because something isn't acting right in your opinion, doesn't mean it's broken._


	22. Fight Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uryu is a bit of an ass, Hana takes some time to hang out with Angel.   
> Originally typed in August 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: violence and fighting

Events from the incident with Uryu weren't forgotten by Hana, but they were put out of her mind for now.

It would have to be handled later.

Results of the school finals were posted and all students searched for their names.

Hana stood with Orihime, Tatsuki, Angel, Rocky, and Kathy as they each searched for their own names. There was no problem finding Orihime's name, seeing as she had scored third overall.

Tatsuki rubbed Orihime's head in praise. "Third place, huh? As usual, you did great." She congratulated the giggling girl.

Hana smiled at her. "Wow Hime, I wish I was as smart as you." She gushed. She was a bit envious of her friend's score but hid it as well as she could.

Orihime just kept giggling at the praise.

Many other students were congratulating each other on their scores as well.

Hana eventually found herself frowning as she searched and didn't find her own name. That meant that she scored low again. She sighed and repositioned her bag.

How was she ever going to achieve her life plan this way? She wanted to go to college, major in teaching, and minor in botany.

With the scores that she'd been getting, she'd be lucky to get into her first-choice college.

"Didn't make the list again, huh?" Rocky asked while putting a hand on Hana's shoulder.

Hana shook her head. "Apparently not, and I thought I did better too." She sighed dejectedly.

Kathy pat the older girl's head, "Just relax, you always make the top 150." She tried to reassure.

That didn't help much but Hana gave a small smile to help Kathy think it did. "Well, you're right." She said and turned her attention to the smaller girl who was patiently waiting for her turn to see if she and her brother's names were on the list.

"Chad did amazing as usual, got 11th I do believe," Hana told her.

Angel looked at her and smiled. "Thank you, Hana. Did I make it this time?" She asked.

Hana adjusted her bag again before speaking. "I didn't see your name up there, but it's possible that I could have missed it." She said kindly. "You should check for yourself."

Angel shrugged her shoulders. "If you didn't see my name, it's probably not up there, I trust you." She said quietly. She would just wait and find out her score later if Chad didn't tell her first.

She always seemed to do fairly well though, even getting higher scores than Hana.

Much like with her brother and other friends who did well, Hana was envious of the scores but she was always supportive.

The four girls stood in an empty area of the hallway but could still hear the commotion from the other students.

"Oh!" Angel's eyes suddenly lit up. "Do you guys want to hang out after school to celebrate finals scores?" She asked. Her excited tone turned a bit shy at the end.

Rocky smiled sadly, "can't gotta work tonight." She refused.

Kathy rubbed her arm sheepishly. "I'm afraid I have to say no too..." she said.

Angel frowned, she was sure Hana would say no too.

Hana did consider rejecting the offer but thought about it more. She hadn't spent much time with Angel since she and Ichigo started acting as soul reapers and she felt guilty about it. Sure there was a risk of a hollow showing up, but Hana didn't want her friend to be alone.

"Sure." She finally spoke up.

Angel's eyes lit up again. "Really?" She asked cautiously.

Hana giggled, "really."

After classes ended, Hana told Ichigo that she would be with Angel and then followed it up by telling him "don't do anything stupid."

She'd become aware of his noticing Uryu in their class and had noticed the looks he'd thrown that way.

Nothing good would come of that.

Despite her firm tone, she never got Ichigo to promise that he wouldn't do anything stupid.

Hana met up with Angel on the school steps and smiled. "So, what do you have planned?" She asked.

Angel blushed and shrugged, not wanting to admit that she hadn't planned anything. But Hana knew her well enough to see that.

"Why don't we start by getting ice cream or something, my treat." Hana offered.

Angel pouted a bit. "I can't ask you to pay, it was my idea to hang out."

Hana kept smiling. "But it was my idea to get ice cream, I'll pay for it." No matter what, she was going to refuse to let Angel pay for the ice cream.

After stopping at Hana's favorite ice cream shop, a place she used to go with her family when she was younger, the two girls headed to the park. Right now it was fairly empty which helped Angel relax as they enjoyed their treats.

It felt nice for Hana to relax and spend time with her friend again. She had almost forgotten what it was like to hang out without worrying about whether she would have to take off after her brother. She had also almost forgotten the suspicions around Angel remembering what soul reapers wore and the fact that Angel looked familiar to Rukia.

For now, just as she had been, Hana ignored the suspicious feeling she had about those things. For now, they were just normal high school students eating ice cream in a park.

Angel looked at Hana and contemplated how she should go about asking the questions on her mind. It was a few minutes before she spoke. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked.

Hana stared at her for a second, confused. She didn't understand why Angel would suddenly ask that.

Angel was a bit disappointed that Hana didn't get it but she ignored the feeling. "You've seemed really tired recently." She explained.

Hana didn't have to pause to think about an excuse, she had a perfectly good one. "It's because I've been studying so hard. I haven't really had time to catch up on sleep." She said.

Angel nodded a bit but didn't fully accept the response as truthful. However, she let it be for now. "Oh, well I hope you catch up soon. It's not good for your heart if you don't get enough sleep." She said.

Hana hummed in response and finished off her cone without saying anything.

Angel finished hers soon after. "I'm sorry if I upset you, I just noticed that you've been acting differently." She said.

Hana pat Angel's head. "It's okay, I've just been worried about my grades." She tried to convince her. It wasn't entirely a lie either, she was worried about her grades.

Angel understood that Hana was under pressure, a pressure that she mostly put on herself for some reason. Perhaps it had to do with how she took care of her family. It could have been that she was trying to set an example for the younger girls, showing them that they could do the same as she did.

Hana broke the silence that came over the two. "So what do you want to do now?" She asked.

Angel hummed in thought, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. "Maybe we could just walk around?" She offered.

Hana nodded in response and the two set off into the park.

Occasionally the two would talk about something. How Hana's garden was doing, how they studied for the finals, and a few other things.

As Hana went to tell a funny story about how Ichigo ended up with a handprint of ink on his face her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened as she recognized the feeling.

"A-Angel, listen to me. I ne-need you to run and find Ichigo or Rukia." She stuttered.

Angel looked at her confused then her eyes widened when Hana pointed to her chest. "No, if your heart is doing something then I can't just leave you!" She began to panic.

Hana gasped, the process being slower this time than ever before. The pressure was smaller but still affecting her.

"Angel..." she grit her teeth, "please... this means we're in danger." She tried to explain. The pressure was growing stronger and she fell to her knees in pain.

Angel shrieked and went to Hana's side. The older girl no longer seemed to have the strength to speak.

It only took another minute for Hana's body to force her soul out. She placed her hands on Angel's shoulders. "You can see me, right?" She asked urgently.

Angel's eyes shifted between Hana's body and her soul before a flash of recognition went through her eyes and she nodded.

Hana didn't have time to be relieved that Angel didn't freak out. "Okay, run, and get Ichigo. At least tell him where I am." She said firmly.

Angel shook her head. "I can't just leave you!" She cried.

Hana was going to insist before she finally saw the hollow. She started pulling Angel away from her body, she couldn't risk it getting damaged.

The hollow chased the two into a patch of trees. Hana took a moment to draw her blade as her eyes scanned the area for the monster.

Angel was shaking behind her. Memories of her last encounter with a hollow pushed to the surface. The mind-altering that Rukia put on her was no longer working. The memories did nothing but raise Angel's anxiety more.

Neither girl dared to speak or make noise besides breathing. The hollow was out of sight and could come from any direction.

The canopy of the tree they stood under suddenly vanished and there stood the lizard-like hollow that had pursued them.

Hana yelped and swung her blade but the hollow dodged and let out a sickening cackle.

"Foolish girl! Such slow reflexes are no match for me!" The hollow taunted.

Hana could feel sweat form over her temple. This was her first time fighting a hollow without Rukia and Ichigo nearby to act as a backup and she had no other choice than to win. But, she had no idea what to do.

The hollows eyes watched the two, it seemed to simply hold them in place with its glare.

Angel's body shook with fear and it seemed as if flashes of bright light and pure darkness blinked through her vision every minute or so. It must have been in her mind because the hollow didn't seem to notice.

Hana wouldn't take her eyes off of the beast. She was under the impression that it would attack if she so much as blinked. She stood her ground for both herself and Angel.

The hollow cackled again. "Are you standing your ground? Or are you frozen with fear?!" It jeered. It was clearly enjoying this, enjoying playing with its food.

Angel flinched when it spoke but Hana didn't. Hana was busy trying to figure out the best way to fight it.

The hollow was massive and held itself low to the ground. It had a ton of strength and some speed as well. It's back and head were heavily armored.

Hana had to take a chance.

She rushed forward as quickly as she could but the hollow noticed and used one of its front legs to swat her away. She'd tried to protect herself with her blade as she'd seen Ichigo do before but it didn't work. Her back slammed into the trunk of a tree.

It was faster than her, that was for sure.

Angel had noticed that as well. A deep, hidden part of her brain began to scream at her.

 _Figh_ t! _You both can win this_!

Angel gulped and glanced around, surely there was a way to slow the beast down so that Hana could hit it.

Angel shook more, her nerves telling her to run, but the part of her mind that usually lost finally won. She picked up the largest stone that she could and chucked it at the monster.

The stone landed on the front foot that the hollow was using to support itself as it toyed with Hana. The hollow snarled and turned on Angel. "I see that you want to play too."

Angel shrieked and ran. The hollow left the winded soul reaper to chase after her.

Hana got her breath back as best she could before following. "I need it to slow down, I need..." she tried thinking out loud.

 _Put it to sleep_.

Belladonna suggested.

Hana took the suggestion to heart and immediately wracked her brain for a good flower to use in this case. As she rushed through her plant memory she also forced herself to run faster despite the burning of her muscles.

Hana shoved Angel out of the way and pointed her blade shakily at the hollow. "Chamomile!" She cried.

A few white flowers bloomed but seemed to have no effect on the hollow.

The two girls took off running again with the hollow on their tails.

It was hard to strategize like this and Hana was at a loss, what could she do?

Angel stumbled but managed to stay upright and kept running. That didn't last long as a large rock caused her to tumble to the ground.

Hana cried out but before anything could be done, the hollow was over Angel. It lifted one of its feet, ready to crush her.

Unable to stand seeing the foot coming or the hollows eyes, Angel closed hers. She didn't know how she was going to manage to survive this.

A blanket of shadow fell over her and concentrated in front of the hollows eyes separately. The hollow could see nothing but darkness and stumbled back as it tried to clear its vision. It roared in frustration and confusion.

Angel opened her eyes and looked at the beast confused while Hana saw her chance. She leaped into the air and brought her blade down on the hollows mask as hard as she could. Luckily her blade made it through in one stroke.

Both girls watched, breathing heavily, as the hollow dissipated. A sudden weakness washed over Hana and she fell onto her rear in the dirt.

That hollow was nowhere near as powerful as the ones she'd seen Ichigo fight, and she'd hardly done anything to it.

It was only by pure luck that the girls escaped with only bruises and scrapes.

Angel looked over at Hana. "You're a soul reaper..." she said softly.

Hana scooted over next to her and sighed. "Yeah, but I'm not a very good one." She replied. "Besides, how do you know what soul reapers are?" She asked.

Angel shrugged, her body still shaking from the hollow encounter. "I honestly don't remember... but I knew before the last fight." She answered.

Hana looked down at Angel unsure of what to say in response to that. Sure she wanted to know how she knew but she doubted she would get an answer. For now, the two sat in silence.

Don't doubt yourself, you always have room to grow.


	23. Golden Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana wants to get stronger. Something triggers one of Angel's dreams. There's a talking cat.  
> Originally typed in August 2018

Golden eyes observed the girls as they tried to regain their breath and calm down a bit. Once Angel had stopped shaking the owner of those golden eyes stepped forward. "It was pretty foolish to leave your body out in the open like that." They spoke up.

Hana immediately reacted by jumping and pointing her blade at the newcomer. Once she got a look at them, she lowered her blade and stared in confusion. The newcomer was just a black cat.

The cat sat in front of the two and flicked its tail. "You're lucky that I'm strong enough to move it." It finished its earlier statement.

"You can talk...?" Angel asked.

The cat rolled its eyes. "If I couldn't then I wouldn't be talking to you right now." It said a bit annoyed.

Hana and Angel exchanged looks but Hana didn't sheath her sword. She wasn't ready to let her guard down yet.

The cat sighed. "You can relax Hana, you need to get back in your body. We need to check the condition of your heart." It said.

Hana sheathed her sword but kept an eye on the cat. "How do you know about that?" She asked.

The cat didn't answer right away and cleaned its head with its paw. It stopped and looked up at her before answering. "I know more about you than you would expect. You're a special case." It said.

Hana was a bit reluctant to fully trust the talking cat but looked at Angel for her opinion.

Angel stood up, "if there might be a problem with your heart then I think it needs to be checked out." She said.

Hana sighed but nodded and followed the cat to her body. She entered her body and stretched to get rid of the numbness in her limbs. "What do you think is wrong with my heart?" She asked the cat.

The cat stayed silent for a minute then finally spoke up. "We'll discuss more at the shop." It said.

"Shop?" The girls asked in unison.

The cat didn't respond to their question and just started walking. Angel and Hana gave each other another look before following.

The cat leads them to a very old-styled shop and entered. Hana stopped for a minute before entering the shop with her head held high and her back straight to try and give off an air of power. She didn't know what to expect.

Angel stayed close behind her, more nervous than before in the new surroundings.

"Ah, I see you found them Yoruichi." A familiar voice spoke up.

Hana looked over to see the man in green and white that she'd met at the Don Kanonji incident.

The man smiled. "Hana, Angel I'm glad to see you two doing so well after that random attack." He said.

Hana didn't relax yet. "Yeah, thanks... the cat said something about checking my heart." She brought up.

The man closed his fan and the goofy air around him all but disappeared. "That's right, I'm concerned about the stress on it." He said and led the girls to a room in the back of the deceptively small shop.

Both girls were a bit suspicious and nervous as the other, taller man Hana had met along with the man in green and white pulled out a stethoscope. He had Hana sit down and listened to her heart.

After a few minutes of staying silent and going through the usual processes of checking on her heart, Hana spoke. "You said something about my heart the last time we met." She brought up.

The blonde man glanced up at her from over his hat. "I suppose I did." He said.

The other man stopped listening to her heart.

"You're forced to eject from your body every time a hollow is near, correct?" The blonde asked.

Angel looked a bit confused but continued to listen.

Hana nodded a bit and looked skeptically at the man. "Yes, that's true." She answered honestly.

The man nodded to himself. "That puts a lot of strain on your heart, healthy or not." He said.

Angel looked at her friend in concern. "Is something wrong with her heart?" She asked.

The taller man shook his head. "Just an odd beat here or there. Nothing much to worry about." He assured.

Both girls found themselves sighing in relief. They were both happy to hear that news.

The blonde in white and green chuckled a bit and reached into a box to get something. "This should help to not put much more strain on your heart." He said and placed the candy dispenser in her hand. "It's a mod soul." He explained.

Hana gave a short nod. "Great, I already know how to handle it." She said and stuck it in her bag.

The term "mod soul" rung a bell for Angel, but she couldn't remember ever hearing it before. She rubbed at her temple due to the feeling of a building headache.

Hana stood and stretched, "so are we good to go?" She asked.

The man hummed in thought. "I suppose. But, do you two wish to get stronger?" He asked.

The two girls looked at each other as if having a silent conversation. Neither spoke for a few minutes.

Hana was the first to look away. "Yes, I want to get stronger." She answered sternly.

Angel bit her lip in thought. She didn't quite understand what she could do to get stronger. She believed what had happened in the forest was pure luck. But, after hearing what they had to say about Hana's heart, she didn't want Hana to do this alone.

There was also the inkling that if she went along with this, she may find more that seemed familiar. This may lead to her finding out why she knew what soul reapers were.

She finally nodded her head without saying a word.

The man in white and green grinned. "Wonderful! Come here tomorrow after school and we'll set up a schedule." He said cheerfully. He turned to the black cat that was still watching. "Isn't it wonderful Yoruichi?" He asked.

The cat chuckled a bit. "I shouldn't be surprised." It said.

The girls looked at the cat confused but it didn't clarify. After a minute they looked back at each other and Hana shrugged.

She supposed that the cat knew what it was talking about. It was a talking cat after all. There had to be some reason it could talk.

"Well, I think the first day of training should be used to get my mod soul used to acting like me," Hana said and smiled a bit. She sincerely hoped she wouldn't get a mod soul as stubborn as Kon.

Angel didn't entirely understand what Hana meant, but Hana was smiling. She nodded to her friend and gave a small smile. "I have to figure out what to tell Chad about this." She said.

Hana hummed in thought. "Well, I guess you could say we're doing some jogging together." She offered.

"Maybe that would work," Angel mumbled.

Neither of the girls noticed that all but the cat had left them until now.

Angel looked at the cat, its eyes stirred something in her memory. Its eyes met hers and suddenly her world began to spin. She crumpled to the floor and Hana rushed to catch her.

"Angel!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel looked down at the tiny hands gripping her clothes. They were a toddler's hands and attached to her.

This was another dream, or memory based on that and she was seeing through her toddler self's eyes.

The toddler her was nervously gripping at her clothes and looking longingly at the toys that her playmate was hoarding around him.

Her playmate was a little boy not much older than her and he wasn't allowing her to play with any of his toys. When his mother would give little Angel attention he would yell and fuss as well.

The mother sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It was frustrating that her son wouldn't play nice with the other toddler. "Kiddo, she's allowed to play too." She said gently and moved some of the toys away from her son to give them to Angel.

The light-haired boy pouted and reached for the toys that his mother had moved, despite there being several sitting around him.

Angel looked at the boy nervously before hesitantly picking up one of the toys.

The boy fussed and his mother handed him a different toy. "Please share with Angel." She all but begged.

A deep chuckle came from behind the mother. "He's pretty stubborn, he must have gotten that from you." A red-haired man with golden eyes said as he sat next to the three.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah but he has to learn to play with others and she's the only one he can play with." She said.

Angel looked up at the two and giggled. She was happy to see her older brother and his cheerful tone helped her relax.

The older brother, who was the oldest of the group grinned and ruffled his baby sister's hair.

Angel reached up to grab his wrist and babbled like she was talking to him.

He chuckled again. "I know, I know. The mean boy isn't sharing his toys or his mommy." He cooed.

The teenage mother smiled at her friend.

The boy huffed, jealous that he wasn't getting his mother's attention, and crawled over to her. "Mama!" He fussed. He put his chubby little hands on her knee and pushed himself up so he was standing.

His mother smiled and ruffled the fluffy hair on his head. "Aw, look at my big boy." She cooed and kissed his head.

He squealed happily.

Angel looked over and did the same as her playmate only she started babbling just like she had at her brother. This only lasted a minute before she yawned.

The boy's mother fought back a yawn of her own and pat Angel's head. "Sleepy, me too." She said.

The older teen looked at them with a smile still on his face. "I think it's nap time then." He said and picked Angel up.

The boy's mother nodded and took her son into her arms. "I think you're right." She said.

Little toddler Angel put her hands on her big brother's cheeks and made him look at her as she babbled again, looking right into his eyes as she did.

Those bright, happy, golden eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel opened her eyes. It was so odd to her that she would have dreams about times when she should have been too young to remember anything.

She found herself in a strange room on an old-style bed mat. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I?" She mumbled.

There was movement beside her where Hana was sitting as she shifted closer.

"You're awake! Are you alright? What happened?" She asked nervously.

Angel didn't answer her right away. Her eyes scanned the room again as her mind processed the questions she'd been asked.

After a minute she spoke up, "I think I had another dream..." she said quietly.

Hana put a hand on her back. "You passed out and had one of those memory dreams?" She asked.

Angel nodded a little bit and explained the dream to her older friend. "The man in my dream... he's my big brother. I could see him more clearly than I've ever seen anyone in my dreams before. I can remember his eye and hair color." She mumbled.

Hana kept rubbing Angel's back. "It sounds like your dreams are getting more clear." She said.

Neither girl realized that the cat, Yoruichi, was sitting outside the door listening to them. Its eyes squinted as it listened.

It seemed to them that the seal on Angel's memories was being weakened. It wouldn't be too long before she remembered everything, from the looks of it anyway.

Yoruichi wasn't sure if that was good or bad but it seemed as if something was up.

Between the more numerous hollow sightings and that woman suddenly showing her face to then again it was a bit suspicious.

This all had an air of trouble to it.

Yoruichi moved and went to wait for Uruhara to return, this would have to be discussed.

For ignoring the signs of trouble, can only cause more trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More detail on one of the mysterious people in Angel's dreams.


	24. The Fight is Just Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad and Orihime are back! Uryu is still an ass.

Hana and Angel relaxed for a few minutes before noise from the other room got their attention. After a glance at each other, they decided to see what it might be and then peeked their heads out the door. 

Urahara noticed the two and gave them a wave signaling them to come forward. "I think your friends are in there. They're fine, just tired." He told them and headed through another door. 

The girls shared another look before following. Once seeing who Uruhara had referred to as their friends, Angel gasped and rushed past Hana. 

"Chad!" She cheered and hugged him. Angel felt her brother's forehead and looked over him to make sure he had no injuries. He certainly didn't look majorly injured. 

So why was he here?

Angel nodded and hugged him. "I'm fine, thanks to Hana." She told him. 

Chad looked at the older girl. "Thanks." He muttered. 

Hana shrugged her shoulders. "She helped save me too." She gave Angel credit.

While Angel took care of making sure Chad was alright, Hana turned her attention to Orihime. The other orange-haired girl was also unconscious, yet seemingly uninjured. Hana checked her temperature, her pulse, and her breathing just to be careful. Once she was positive that Orihime was alright, she allowed herself to relax a bit and turned her attention to Chad.

After a bit of checking him over it became clear that Chad was perfectly fine as well.

Once reaching this realization both girls relaxed a bit more. They were both wondering why and how the other two ended up there, but that would have to wait until Orihime woke up. It also depended on whether or not the other two chose to tell Hana and Angel what had happened to them. 

The girls then chose to explain to Chad that they had been attacked by a monster and had to find a way to get away from it, all while leaving out the facts that Angel had powers and Hana was a soul reaper. They were hoping to encourage Chad to tell them what happened to him and Orihime.

Chad was silent under the stares of Hana and Angel as they waited for his story. After a few minutes of the stares, he finally spoke, "I got in a fight... With a monster..." He said dully. 

Hana found herself laughing a little bit. She covered her mouth, stopping the laughs shortly. "I'm so sorry Chad, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just kind of funny how you can say that you fought a monster in such a monotonous tone." She apologized. 

Chad just gave her a nod to say that it was alright and Angel smiled. 

After that, the trio fell into a comfortable silence for a while as they waited for Orihime to wake up. Despite thinking and replaying everything that happened in their heads, they were able to relax a bit again. 

That silence didn't last too long though. It was broken as the still asleep Orihime started to mumble and toss and turn. 

All three moved in to check on her, or to hear what kind of interesting things the imaginative girl would dream about. Hana and Angel sat at her sides, giving her quite a bit of distance due to her rolling around, while Chad leaned over her.

When Orihime shot up yelling, the two other girls were very happy to have chosen the spots that they did. She shot up with a lot of force, making Angel jump a bit. 

Poor Chad was not as lucky as Hana or Angel. He got a good hit to the sniffer from the back of Orihime's noggin and it hit hard enough to give him a nosebleed. 

Hana acted quickly and tried to find something to help with Chad's nose. She managed to find a box of tissues while Chad was asking Orihime about her dream. She headed back to Chad's side and held a tissue to his nose for a minute before he gratefully took both the soiled tissue and the box from her. 

"Thanks," Ched mumbled. 

Hana nodded and smiled before turning her attention to Orihime, completely ready to ask why she was there. 

She didn't get the chance though. 

"Oh my, it looks like those two finally woke up." Urahara chose to announce his presence then. 

All four teens looked at him and no one seemed sure what to say at that moment. 

It was Orihime that spoke up first, "Um... Who is he?" She asked.

Hana shrugged instead of giving her an answer. She wasn't entirely sure what to say to her about Urahara. She knew he had something to do with soul reapers due to coming in contact with him before but didn't say anything about it. 

"I don't know either," Chad answered. "It's just that, somehow... He seems to have saved us." 

The four, who had looked at each other when Orihime started speaking, looked at the man in green and white again. He simply stood there quietly with a smile on his face. 

"Now Orihime is awake and Hana and Angel are here... Please tell us more about what you were saying earlier." Chad spoke again, "The reason that a strange power was born from us and the connection it has with Ichigo." He finished. 

Hana and Angel looked at him in shock then met each other's eyes. They had kept Angel's powers from him and he hadn't said anything about powers in his very short explanation. 

"What about Ichigo?" Orihime asked. 

The man's smile dropped a bit. "Well, it's connected to Hana as well." He said. 

Three sets of eyes looked at the stunned Hana for a moment before Uruhara gave the human trio the same basic information that Rukia had given her and Ichigo that night that they first met.

The explanation about Hollows and Soul Reapers. 

Angel found all of this a bit repetitive for some reason. All of the information that he was giving the group already seemed to exist in her memory and now, as he spoke, she was able to recall all of it. To her, it was almost as if she knew what he was going to say next. 

Chad eventually spoke up again. "Wait just a moment please." 

Urahara looked over at them. "What's wrong? Can't believe me? It's too outrageous, isn't it?" He asked. 

Chad rubbed his head, "Yeah..." He mumbled. 

"Of course it is... Soul reapers and hollows?" Orihime spoke, "You can't say this stuff out of the blue and tell us to believe..." She contested. 

Hana stayed silent. What could she say about this? She couldn't say that she had known about these things all along without possibly disturbing the others more. She couldn't say anything against it because she knew that he was telling the truth. If she told them to just listen then she felt as if it would be suspicious of her. 

Angel looked at Hana to see what she would do. She had the idea that Hana had known all of this from the start. Otherwise, she wouldn't have acted the way that she did when the hollow attacked the two of them. She attacked it and protected Angel, though her movements seemed sloppy and uncoordinated. 

Why did Angel think something like that now?

Urahara looked up at the four from beneath his hat. "Do you deny it? If so, you have it wrong. The monsters with holes in their chests who targeted you all earlier..." He trailed off, "those were hollows."

Hana looked down at her hands which remained folded in her lap. So both of them were attacked, and she could do nothing to help them. 

Angel glanced at both Orihime and Chad, finding them to be surprised. What shocked her more than their shock, was that she was in no way surprised. Not at all. 

Urahara glanced over the group again to see if he had their attention before continuing his speech. "If you wish to deny this conversation, then you first must deny the pain and fear you had earlier." He said. 

Hana balled her hands into fists. She couldn't look up at her friends. Sure they had come out healthy and seemingly uninjured, but what would have happened if they hadn't? Would they have been eaten? Would they have been simply killed? Would they have been tortured until their death?

"Ichigo Kurosaki," Hana's attention snapped to Uruhara as he continued again, "he certainly has uncommon spiritual pressure for a soul reaper." His eyes met Hana's for a moment. "However, his art of handling that abundant power is too awkward. Hence, without restraint, his power just pours out wildly."

Hana's face scrunched up a bit in confusion. that didn't make sense to her. She'd never felt any power pouring off of her brother randomly.

"Hana, you're lucky your spiritual pressure is relatively low and subdued. But, it is growing in strength and it will become a problem if you don't learn to control it." Urahara addressed Hana directly.

Hana didn't react to it. She didn't nod, say a word, or even make a sound to show that she had heard him. She simply let him continue speaking.

"That poured out spiritual pressure is so thick that it can consequently affect every single spirit." Urahara went back to the original topic. "That's how it happened with you three as well." He explained. 

Chad and Orihime seemed even more surprised and Hana clenched her jaw for a second. So they were safe because Ichigo's spiritual power had caused them to develop powers that they used to protect themselves. Without that then perhaps something worse would have happened. 

"Wait, I don't-" Urahara raised a hand to silence Hana.

Angel looked wide-eyed at her friend's outburst but stayed quiet as she usually did. 

"Please remember, in each of your pasts, how often was it that you all must have encountered the soul reaper form of Ichigo." Urahara continued. 

Hana looked at her friends, worried. Them being in danger was partially her fault, sure Uruhara had mentioned that she hardly put off any spiritual pressure but surely she put off enough to have helped Ichigo's massive amount affect their friends in some way. She felt at fault for this, like it was her responsibility to take care of this. 

"By coming into contact with Ichigo and Hana, your natural powers were pulled from the depths of your souls!" Urahara emphasized. 

Hana was pulled into thought. Their powers were _drawn out_. That had to mean the powers were there in the first place, just inactive. Did that mean that everyone could have powers of some sort drawn out if they came in contact with high spiritual pressure? Perhaps that would explain more about the powers that Don Kanonji had shown the night of the show taping.

"We came into contact with Ichigo and Hana and our powers were drawn out?" Orihime finally asked. 

She got a positive answer and scratched her head. "Wait a second... I'm not sure I get it." She muttered. 

"It's alright if you don't understand. Your transformations are not a disease one comes down with. It is simply that you have been given the key to a door that has appeared before you." Urahara tried to simplify in a way, to reassure Orihime that not understanding right away was alright. 

His explanation caused Hana's shoulders to relax a bit and she looked over at her friends who looked pensive. This had all been brought up in a way with her and Angel earlier, but this was a bit different. How it was different, she had no idea but it was. 

"If it's unnecessary to know the cause, then it's unnecessary to lament one's misfortune. With the key in your hands, it's up to all of you whether to open the door in front of you or keep it closed." Urahara finally finished. 

The entire group was silent and thinking for only a moment before they all looked up. Another door had opened and the other man who helped run the shop knelt before the open door on one knee. "Manager! The kuu-mon has begun its divergence!" He said urgently. 

"I see..." Urahara muttered and stood, "The preparations?" He asked. 

"Complete!" The other answered, with just as much purpose behind it as before. 

Urahara turned to leave. "Right, shall we go then?" He questioned the entire group. 

"Wait a minute! We still-" Orihime tried to speak up again but Uruhara silenced her by speaking.

"Are you coming along?" He asked and without giving any of them time to answer, started to walk. He did shoot a quick look at Hana. "Now would be a good time to try out that mod soul." He suggested. 

Hana's eyes widened a bit and she rushed to get her new mod soul out of her bag while Orihime and Chad followed Urahara. 

Angel stayed behind a bit to wait for her and watched as Hana swallowed the little green ball that was the mod soul. She watched as Hana's soul was pushed from her body again, though Hana looked much more comfortable this time than before and her body didn't seem to be in pain. 

Hana stretched out her still sore muscles and turned to the mod soul who was staring expectantly at her. "Uh... Just sit here, stay, and don't do anything... Okay?" She asked. 

The mod soul saluted. "Yes ma'am!" She cheered and grinned. 

Once assured that the mod soul would stay put, Hana walked over to Angel. "Guess we don't need to make up an excuse for training anymore." She said.

Angel nodded a little bit, hardly hiding her nervousness. "Are we going to have to fight again?" She asked.

Hana sighed. "Possibly, but don't worry." She smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you, and so are Chad and Orihime." She reassured.

Angel nodded again. "Right."

"Let's go then," Hana said and then the two girls followed the path that the others had taken outside. 

Outside stood Uruhara, the other man, two children, Chad, and Orihime. All seemed to be waiting for the two of them.

Orihime and Chad both looked at Hana, neither seeming sure how to react as she adjusted Belladonna at her hip. 

Maybe their fight wasn't over. 

Maybe their fight was just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used sniffer and noggin in this chapter, it's making me laugh now.


	25. Watching From the Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My girl the Red demon and her garbage boss are back at it again.  
> Originally typed in September 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Violence, emotional abuse, and hinted sexual abuse

The red-haired woman had to admit that following the orange-haired teen was the most interesting thing to happen to her in decades. Perhaps the most interesting since she'd purposely gotten her stomach sliced open by a hollow and _He_ managed to find a way to save her.

This whole incident with the other high school boy who had summoned a massive amount of hollows had her both worried and entertained. She knew the hollows would be drawn anywhere where someone was releasing a decent spiritual pressure, and Angel was beginning to release a fairly weak amount.

Though she badly wished to check on fir girl, she would have to report the "contest" to _Him._ There was also the possibility that she would lead more danger to the girl.

She stood off to the side with her hood once again covering her face and released a small amount of spiritual pressure in hopes of keeping a majority of the hollows in this area. That should hopefully keep them away from the others. She made sure to keep to the shadows as she watched the boys but she was almost positive that they wouldn't notice her even if she was out in the open, they were too busy. 

Her arms crossed over her chest and she leaned against a tree and watched the soul reaper boy finally catch up to the dark-haired boy who had initiated this contest in the first place. The two were so animated in confronting each other that it was plenty entertaining to watch even if she wasn't able to hear them. 

Things became even more entertaining when the mod soul and Rukia appeared on the scene. She chuckled lightly and watched the group. 

Teenagers could be so lively. It made her wonder what it would be like if she got to take care of her children in their teenage years. If her son was anything like her then he would be trouble, but she shook the thought away. 

It was likely she'd never get the chance to actually interact with them again, even if _He_ decided to make this all stop or he was stopped. 

Her attention went back to the teens as they bickered amongst each other. The dark-haired boy seemed to be left out and a bit put off as he watched from the sidelines of the bickering between the two soul reapers and the mod soul. 

He continuously attempted to gain their attention and he continuously failed. 

The woman could hear the rest of the group shouting, though it was so mixed together and jumbled that she couldn't understand a word of it. Were they genuinely arguing or were they just playing? She couldn't tell. 

The dark-haired boy finally had enough and took a stance. He summoned what seemed to be a bow and arrow made of spiritual pressure and aimed it at the orange-haired boy. 

The woman was sure that she'd seen something like that, or at least heard of it before. Though she couldn't remember what the weapon was called or what those who wielded them were called. 

The arrow was released and the soul reaper boy managed to block it.

The woman had to stop herself from letting out an impressed whistle. The orange-haired boy was fast.

While she was entertained by the animated movements that clearly showed off their personalities, the woman was starting to lost interest. That didn't mean that she wouldn't pay attention, she had to. It was part of her job and if she failed, she had too much at risk. 

A strong spiritual pressure fell over the area and her red eyes looked up at the sky. She'd seen the crack that began to form there a few times. Very few times, but there was no forgetting this.

And it could mean doom for all of them. 

"Damn brat..." She grumbled, "he managed to summon a menos." She spat as she watched the hollows gather. 

She began to get nervous, it wasn't just for her own well-being either. Being a mother had changed how she behaved. 

Back in the day, she might not have cared that those kids would possibly be killed. She would have only cared about herself. But, after she became a mother, that changed. The urge to protect others grew in her the second she first laid eyes on her baby boy. 

Her fingers twitched, now at the hilt of her blade as the dark-haired boy started shooting down many of the large group of smaller hollows. She felt the heat from her zanpakutou beneath her palm.

She begged to be unleashed once again.

The dark-haired boy took off and soon after the orange-haired boy followed him. 

"Damn it..." The woman cursed. She had to sneak her way around Rukia and the mod soul to follow the two boys. 

Once she managed to get past them she noticed that the boys had gotten themselves surrounded by the hoard of hollows. They stood back to back yet they weren't truly focused on the enemies around them as they continued to bicker. 

The woman watched as they battled, her hands still twitching in anticipation as the urge to join the battle coursed through her body. How badly she wished to join in. And she wasn't the only one. Her blade wished to slice through enemy flesh once more, but she would have to wait.

The woman was doing her job.

Though if a hollow were to go after her, she would immediately kill it. 

Her eyes followed the boys as they continued to battle. They conversed as they battled and before long began to fight as an impressive team.

It was made more impressive to the woman because she'd rarely ever been able to work as a team. She was not someone who usually worked well in a team due to her stubbornness and confrontational attitude. 

But there had been a time when she would take any order given to her and she would never speak out against someone else. That was only because of how badly it had been drilled into her though.

That wasn't much different than what she was being forced to do now. She had to take orders and if she spoke out, then she wasn't the only one that would be punished.

Her memories were pushed into the back of her mind again as the hollows surrounding the boys began screaming towards the sky. They were calling for the menos. 

No longer did they bother with the boys. Their attention was on the gargantuan monster emerging from the crack in the sky. 

The woman felt her muscles tense. Her fight or flight response was fighting and clashing with her orders to stay and observe the soul reaper. 

A sigh left her lips as she continued to watch, completely fighting her own instinct to rush in and help. The small hollows once more turned on the boys who had assumed that they wouldn't turn back, they'd let their guard down. 

"Rookie mistake boys." She mumbled and unsheathed her blade. With a flick of her wrist, the blade slashed out behind her and through the mask of a hollow that had attempted to sneak up on her. It screeched then disintegrated. "Never let your guard down." She said lowly and sheathed the blade again. 

Honestly, she'd been lucky the hollow that had come after her seemed weak. Her blade was beginning to dull and she wasn't planning on trying to sharpen it any time soon. 

Her attention turned once again to the boys' battle, just in time to see a small girl land in the midst of the horde and attack multiple hollows with a barrage of what seemed to be a kind of bullet. 

The girl was followed by a red-haired boy seemingly the same age as the girl and two men that she had seen before. Urahara and Tessai, she'd been at least acquainted with the two in her time in the world of the living. In fact, Urahara had provided her with her gigai and mod soul, as he did for many. Though she'd avoided meeting the children because she didn't think that she could handle it. 

The woman shouldn't have been surprised that they showed up. She should have known that Uruhara would show for something like this.

Her hand remained on her blade's hilt as she watched the two small children decimate hollows left and right. Tessai helped as well, though her eyes were hardly drawn to him. 

She shook her head a little and continued to watch. Urahara was involved with them now, another thing that _He_ would want to know. 

The teenage boys turned their attention back to the menos when Uruhara pointed to it. Their body posture changed more towards what seemed to be fear. 

The woman glanced at the gargantuan hollow. Now it was gripping the side of the crack it had made in the sky as it slowly began to force its way into the world of the living. Its movements were slow, there was no real denying that, but it had more than enough power to match its size. 

The woman toyed with the charm that dangled off the hilt of her sword. If that menos got through then it would be a huge problem. The beast could cause massive damage without even bothering to use its full strength. 

If the boys could take it down then it would definitely be something impressive and notable. It would be something that _He_ would definitely need to know. She couldn't deny that it would impress her too.

The smaller hollows seemed to cheer, their attention was once again pulled away from the group. Instead, they started to launch themselves at the menos.

The menos simply looked down its long nose at them and launched its tongue at them, much the way a frog catches an insect. But, instead of sticking to the much smaller hollows, they were speared on it. A moment later, the menos pulled all of the hollows that had been speared on its tongue into its mouth. 

Then it devoured them. 

The woman shifted a bit. The display was an impressive show of power difference without any real effort on the menos' part. 

How could the small group handle this? And how had no other soul reapers been drawn to this area by the massive concentration of hollows?

Her attention turned away from the menos and back to the boys just in time to see the orange-haired one begin running toward the menos. She gaped at him, "what the hell is that kid thinking?!" She asked no one.

The dark-haired boy followed behind, proving himself to be a bit of an idiot as well. 

The orange-haired boy reached the menos just as it managed to free a foot and step into the world of the living. The boy attacked the menos' leg, cutting into it enough to make it bleed but not enough to actually cause any damage. 

The menos simply kicked him back to where the dark-haired boy was standing. That boy took his fighting stance and fired at the menos. The fired blast did nothing to it but the other boy took this chance to help the orange-haired soul reaper get up. 

The woman sighed, the kids sure had some guts. Though, she seriously wondered what kind of brains they had to get into this mess in the first place. 

When the dark-haired boy's hand began glowing as if he were once again summoning his weapon, he wasn't in his usual stance. It seemed as if he was shocked. Once the weapon finished forming it was different than before. 

The woman sighed in annoyance and began to wonder what details she could leave out without affecting the information that she was giving _Him_. It was complicated enough to make it hard to remember already. 

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. The boys continued to try and figure out how to beat the menos. She watched as the dark-haired boy tied the soul reaper's zanpakutou to his head. 

The woman covered her mouth to stifle a laugh at how odd it looked. Just what were the boys planning to do?

Hopefully, she could relay this without laughing. 

The orange-haired boy held the handle of his sword and the dark-haired boy formed his weapon in the much larger form once again. 

Was he planning to try and shoot the menos again? Maybe with the larger arrow, it would do at least a little damage.

The menos began to charge a cero and the woman cursed under her breath as the grip on her blade tightened. If that fired and hit, no telling exactly how much it would destroy. 

The soul reaper boy took his sword and ran at the menos as the cero charged. This caused the woman to cuss again and step closer.

Before anyone knew, the cero fired. All eyes followed it and widened as the orange-haired boy repelled the blast using his blade. It was beyond unexpected.

The woman felt her jaw drop. How incredible, he managed to withstand and redirect a cero blast from a menos. There was no doubt that she would have to tell _Him_ about all of this. Though she did wish to try and keep some things about this to herself in hopes of giving that old bastard a surprise. It wasn't likely that she'd be able to though.

The soul reaper boy then proceeded to use a powerful slash against the menos. It wasn't powerful enough to kill it, but it was powerful enough to gravely wound it. 

The woman dropped her grip on her blade and stared at the boy with wide eyes. That much power in a young boy was beyond impressive. Especially in a soul reaper that was hardly trained. 

The menos, put off by its injury, seemed to grab the sky from where the crack had begun and pulled it towards its body. It was retreating due to its wound. 

It was bothered enough to leave and that made the situation more impressive. 

Her eyes snapped over to the boys when the orange-haired boy shouted "victory!!"

But he looked out of it and exhausted. 

The woman shook her head. She was pretty sure that she knew what was wrong with him. He'd overused his spiritual pressure. 

He collapsed and hit the ground. 

She knew that feeling. She'd felt it herself when she first became a soul reaper. She'd been so eager to prove herself to everyone that she overexerted herself and was in the infirmary for days at a time. 

The boy's spiritual pressure began to go out of control and the other boy noticed. He formed his weapon in yet another form and began releasing arrow after arrow, even as it hurt his hand. 

The woman continued to watch as eventually, the other boy fell to his knees, now exhausted. 

She hated seeing the boys like this, but she couldn't do anything about it. She left as the others began taking care of any leftover hollows. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You stupid girl, you don't know what a Quincy is?" _He_ spat at the woman as a smirk curled his lips. He loved berating her. He loved making her feel like nothing. 

The woman bit her tongue to avoid snapping back at him and took a breath. "I may not remember what a Quincy is, but I'm giving you the information you wanted." She said as calmly as she could. 

He stepped closer to her and she had to fight not to step back. He was delighted in her behavior, delighted to see her fight so hard against herself just because he was threatening harm to something she cared about. "And you've given me such wonderful information. Perhaps I should give you a reward." He cooed. 

The woman's face scrunched up in disgust but she didn't say anything. It wasn't an offer that she was allowed to refuse.

If only she were strong enough, she would take him out and end all of this. 


	26. A Past Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I will give you a fair warning, the coming chapters including this one get a bit dark. They have to do with parental abandonment, character death, manipulation, an academy for brainwashing girls into being perfect wives, underage drinking, mentions of rape of an underage girl, and teenage pregnancy along with brief mentions of labor and birth. If any of these things are a problem for you I apologize.  
> Originally typed in September 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings are in the chapter summary on this one. This is one of the points in the story I sat there and thought "it was not supposed to be this dark." But I like how it's turned out.

A little girl with hair that shimmered like flames tried to hold in her tears as her parents said goodbye. They were leaving on an extended trip and didn't think their young daughter could handle it. So, they were leaving her with her uncle until they returned.

Her uncle ran a small inn near a lake. Ther inn was meant to provide rest to those on long journeys.

The girl's lip quivered as she watched her parents' small cart roll away. They'd never left her before.

Her uncle knelt down and rubbed her back. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll seem like no time before they come back." He tried to reassure her.

She didn't listen to him.

Every day after her parents left she would sit down and watch for her parents' return. Even once the seasons began to change, she still watched. Her uncle continually checked on her. He tried to play games with her or presented her with some of the toys that she'd brought with her. But the girl didn't smile or play.

The day finally came when enough snow fell to cover the ground.

When the girl stepped outside to take her usual spot, she stopped. She'd seen snow before but something here was more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen.

For the first time since she'd been left with her uncle, she stepped away from her usual spot and out into the snow.

Snow was beautiful. She loved the sound of it under her feet and she loved how it sparkled. She loved finding the tracks in the snow left by different animals.

She stopped a few feet away from the edge of the currently frozen lake and just looked out over it.

Her uncle came to check on her and nearly had a panic attack at not seeing his little niece in her usual spot. He soon noticed her little footprints in the snow and followed them to her. It was so relieving to find her a few feet from the edge of the frozen water.

Seeing her smile a bit delighted him. It had been so disheartening to see her so depressed.

Before long, after a few weeks, once it snowed again, the girl started to play in the snow. Her uncle was more than happy to join in.

She would bury herself in the snow and jump out at him to surprise him.

One time, she hid in her snow pile for quite a while before jumping out at him.

He felt her nose and ears. "Aren't you cold?" He worried.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm okay." She reassured him.

He still made her go inside and warm up to make sure she wouldn't get sick.

Seasons once again changed and still no word from the girl's parents. This worried her uncle but he never showed this to her.

When baby animals began appearing, the little girl would bring any small animal she thought was injured or abandoned to her uncle.

He did have to tell her to instead of bringing the animals to him, take him to the animals.

The patrons of the inn didn't seem to mind much when she would come in and pull him away just to check on animals she thought were injured.

She then began bringing in flowers to put in the vases inside the inn and would draw pictures to give away to patrons.

Her uncle then figured out why his niece never seemed cold. She had a heart warm enough to keep herself warm in the cold.

The girl's birthday came in summer. Her uncle made her favorite snacks and let her have a bonfire since she loved watching the flames flicker and dance.

He'd taught her to make crowns of the wildflowers they found and he helped her learn to fish.

All of this was him doing his best to distract her from the fact that her parents still hadn't returned.

Time continued to pass as it always does and the young girl began to occasionally hear odd sounds. They sounded like beastly roars but they were never too close.

Until that day.

At six years old, the girl's life changed again. She'd given up on seeing her parents again after the few years that she had lived with her uncle, she hardly remembered them anyway. Her new favorite spot was a bench that her uncle had built her near the lake instead of the porch.

That day she felt an energy in the air and a rumble in the ground. When she turned to look behind her she found herself staring into the bone-white face of the first monster she'd ever seen.

For only a moment she was silent and very happy that her uncle had left her in charge while he went to town for supplies. At the same time, she wished he were there to protect her.

The monster reached toward her and a loud screech ripped through her throat before she attempted to run. But, the speed of a small girl was nothing compared to the speed of the monster and she was gripped tightly in its hand.

She screamed again and tears ran down her face as she was pulled towards the monster's mouth. Her eyes closed so she wouldn't have to see it come closer but tears still ran down her face.

A sound, not unlike the one that was produced when her uncle cut through meat while cooking, ran through the air. The girl felt herself start to fall but she didn't hit the ground.

When her feet were gently placed on the ground she finally looked up to see what or who had saved her.

A boy who seemed to be in his teens quickly let go of her and turned golden eyes to look down at her. "Don't move unless he comes for you." He ordered and took off to attack the monster who was screeching over a missing hand.

The girl worried about the older boy but did as told and didn't move. Her worries went away as the boy fought and used some kind of magic to defeat the monster. Her eyes began to sparkle in wonder as she watched.

Once the monster had been taken care of, the boy came back to her side. "You're not hurt are you?" He asked.

She shook her head slowly, still in wonder. "What are you?" She asked.

The boy stared back at her for a minute. He'd never had a human look at him like this after he'd saved them. He scratched the back of his neck almost nervously.

How could a little girl that had nearly been devoured not be traumatized?

The boy finally decided to answer her. "Have you ever heard of soul reapers?" He asked.

She shook her head. This sounded like something from a fantastical tale and her uncle never told her those.

He sighed, "well, how about this, I'll tell you about soul reapers if you promise not to tell anyone what happened here?" He offered.

She nodded and led him over to her bench so he could sit down.

He took the offered seat and sat beside her. "Alright, a soul reaper..." he paused and looked at the girl who was staring at him expectantly. How could he explain this to her?

"A soul reaper takes the souls of those who pass on and help them find their way to a safe place." He started out, "we also protect souls and the living from hollows, like the one that went after you."

That didn't seem to bother the girl. "You used magic." She was still absolutely amazed by the older boy.

He found himself smiling at her and chuckling. "Yeah, you could say that." He told her.

"What you did was amazing!" She cheered.

The older boy smiled more at the pause and pat the girl's head, "thanks."

"How do you get to be a soul reaper?" She questioned.

The soul reaper wondered if it was wrong to tell her but he finally decided that it couldn't hurt. "You have to have a strong soul. Then, you go to school to learn how to do everything a soul reaper does." He explained.

The boy kept smiling. Some might find the girl's questions annoying, but he didn't mind. 

The girl grinned, showing off some of her missing baby teeth. "I want to be a soul reaper!" She declared.

For a second the soul reaper felt horrified. He'd left out that she more than likely would have to die before she could be a soul reaper. He quickly shook it off. "Alright, I'll be waiting to see you become one. But, you're far too young. You have to make me another promise." He said.

She enthusiastically nodded her head.

"You have to promise me that you'll be much older before you become one." He bargained.

Ther girl pouted a bit at the thought of waiting but nodded. "I promise." She said.

The boy smiled a bit, "by the way, my name is Kuski." He finally introduced himself.

The girl's grin returned, "I'm Akari."

Kuski stayed with her for a short time, continuing to answer questions for her. It was refreshing for him to talk to someone who seemed so enthusiastic.

That couldn't last forever though. Kuski has to leave and continue his patrol of the area, but it wasn't the last time the two saw each other.

Over the next two years, Akari saw Kuski more often. More and more hollows would appear near the inn so he tended to hang around when he could. He answered more and more questions about soul reapers, hollows, and the soul society. He found it nice to have someone to talk to while he was stationed in the world of the living.

But that time was coming to an end, and he began to worry.

The reason that hollows kept appearing in the area was Akari. The fact that she could see Kuski was enough to prove that. He never mentioned it to her though.

The eight-year-old girl seemed oblivious to the fact that other people couldn't see Kuski.

She did notice that he looked exactly the same as when she'd met him, while she had changed a bit. She'd gotten a little taller, her hair had gotten longer and she was overall just an older looking kid than she was when she was six.

Kuski's time in the world of the living was up, and he regretted not telling Akari that she likely wouldn't see him again, but he didn't have the heart to see her sad face.

Akari continued living as normal, at first not being concerned over her friend's absence. She'd gone days without seeing him before, so she wasn't too concerned.

Hollows seemed to stop coming for a while and life at the inn was peaceful.

Winter came without Akari seeing Kuski, but she didn't think he'd left. To her, he was simply keeping hollows away because that was his job as a soul reaper.

The day that she heard the roar of a hollow again, she was helping her uncle sweep the front pathway of the inn free from snow. Her uncle never heard the hollows and he wasn't supposed to know, so she did her best to ignore it.

"Akari, I'm going to make some tea. I'm getting a bit cold. Do you want to come in while I make it?" Her uncle asked.

She smiled and shook her head. "No thank you, but you can come and get me when the tea is ready." She answered.

He pat her head and smiled. He wasn't surprised at all that his niece wanted to stay outside. She loved to play in the snow. "Okay then, don't let yourself get too cold." He told her.

She grinned, "don't worry! I never get cold, my heart is too warm." She repeated what he'd said to her before.

He chuckled and headed inside.

Akari continued sweeping the snow, occasionally stopping to build small snow sculptures. All while ignoring the hollows roar, it would be taken care of.

When the ground shook beneath her feet she stiffened and turned to find a hollow standing in the path between her and the inn. She tried to think quickly about what to do.

She couldn't run to the inn, and not just because the hollow was in the way. If she did then her uncle may get hurt because of the hollow.

So she ran into the woods as fast as her legs could carry her. She just had to stay away from it long enough for Kuski to find it and take care of it.

The hollow crashed into trees and roared in anger over not being able to catch the girl. The trees were helping her avoid it.

Soon it became clear to Akari that there would be no help this time. Terrified tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She needed a soul reaper to save her.

But, she wanted to be a soul reaper. If she was a soul reaper she would have to get rid of hollows. If she took care of this one then when Kuski came back she could tell him and he'd take her to the soul reaper school then and there!

But how would she do it?

Her feet slipped on a patch of ice as she tried to avoid colliding with a tree. She was lucky to stay upright and keep running. That's when she saw her chance to get rid of the hollow. The treeline was in sight, to her that meant a cliff.

She'd been warned about cliffs in the area since she was tiny and she'd heard her uncle warn travelers about them.

She ran towards the cliff, stopping in order to change direction but her feet slipped again.

Her ill-thought-out plan seemed to work and the hollow was unable to stop causing it to go over the cliff with another roar.

But it wasn't the only one.

Akari slid through the snow and over the side, only just catching herself on a root that she couldn't get a good grip on. Melting and refreezing had covered the cliffside with ice.

Even without the ice, she couldn't have held on for long.

Akari's uncle came out to get her when the tea was ready. But, instead of finding her playing in the snow, he found the massive tracks of some beast. Dread gripped his heart as he rushed to follow the tracks.

He reached the cliff and the tracks didn't change direction. There were no little footprints leaving the cliff, only slide marks going over. He looked over the side in hopes he'd find the young girl hanging from a branch or a rock but saw nothing.

He'd lost his parents, his sister, his brother-in-law, and now his niece.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bare feet trudged through the snow, though they left no prints behind them. Their owner hugged themself in an attempt to get warm, a futile attempt.

She'd woken up in what seemed to be summer clothes, yet it was the middle of winter. All she knew was her name, not where she was or how she got there.

She knew nothing but the name Akari.

Weeks passed and Akari froze each and every day. She was sure she'd die of the cold but never did.

A young man taking a stroll through the forest in his free time spotted her. Her lips were blue and she blankly watched snowflakes fall to the ground.

He recognized this immediately and cautiously approached her. "Excuse me, are you alright?" He asked.

Akari stared at him wide-eyed. "You can see me?" She questioned. She had tried getting the attention of passersby in hopes of finding someone who would help her. None of them ever seemed to notice her.

The man knelt before her with a kind smile. To find such a young soul could be so heartbreaking. "I can see you. Your lips are blue, are you cold?" He asked.

She nodded, "very cold..."

He removed his outer coat, further revealing his black and white uniform. Something seemed familiar about it.

The man placed his coat over Akari. Her eyes watered as she felt warmth for the first time in her memory. She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

The man still smiled warmly. "How about I send you somewhere that people will be able to see you? Somewhere you can find a home." He offered.

Akari nodded and pulled the coat tighter around her body. Cold metal met her forehead and the snowy world around her further dissolved into white and changed as she was sent to the soul society.

The dark-haired soul reaper stood and sighed. He wondered how the girl had ended up out here alone. But, he was also afraid to find out due to the horrible things that came to mind. His brown eyes scanned the area for any sign of how long the girl had been there.

He came across a sight that nearly made him wish he hadn't looked. On a pile of large rocks that had clearly fallen from the cliff above, was the body of a young girl. Her skin, that he could see, was grey. Her eyes were wide open in what appeared to be terror.

A thin layer of snow covered her but her red hair peeked out from underneath. Due to the snow and cold weather, it was impossible to tell how long she'd been there.

He sighed again and walked away, tripping a little over the edge of the crater that the hollow had caused when it fell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of feel like this chapter is unnecessary but I love it. You will find out more about this character as you read the next few chapters.


	27. Akari's Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You met the sweet, warm-hearted girl Akari in the last chapter. This chapter continues on the same theme as the last.  
> Originally typed in September 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter includes physical abuse, brainwashing and I guess you could call it bullying. There is at least one more chapter in this part and I hate to say it may be a bit worse. Please enjoy the story though.

Akari was lucky that she was sent to a relatively decent district of the Rukongai. There were people, decent houses, and vendors. She was unlucky in the fact that no one seemed interested in taking her in.

She was alone.

Her stomach began to hurt after a few days, she was hungry. But she rarely saw anyone actually eat so she attempted to ignore it. Eventually, she couldn't ignore that pain.

Since she was just a child she had no money, she had no way of getting food. Unless she could do as she'd seen other kids do.

They would distract the vendors and then one would grab things that they wanted and then take off with them. But, those kids had a group and she was alone. The other kids avoided her for some reason.

She watched the other kids again as she tried to make a plan. Her fingers gripped the ends of the sleeves on her coat. It was the same one that the man who had sent her there had given her. She refused to take it off and when she tried she still felt freezing.

Finally, after hours of watching, she saw a chance. A food vendor was distracted by talking to a few customers. Akari made her move and managed to snag a loaf of bread.

Getting away seemed to be no problem and she hid in an alley between two buildings. Before she took a bite, she looked around nervously once more to make sure that she hadn't been followed. Once reassured that she was alone, she began to eat.

It felt so good to finally eat.

She felt horrible for having to steal, but she didn't have a choice.

She had let her guard down to the point that she didn't notice the woman approaching her. "You poor thing." She said making Akari jump.

The elderly woman was dressed fairly nice and her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, not a single strand of hair out of place.

She reached a hand out for Akari. "I can give you more food if you like." She offered.

Akari looked at her. She had no reason not to trust the woman. Her stomach growled and sped up her decision. She nodded a little bit before taking the woman's hand.

The woman led her to a large building. There were many other girls there, all dressed identically with their hair all pulled up in some way. None of them smiled.

The woman had some of the other girls help bathe and dress Akari. They pulled her hair up tightly ignoring her winces and whines of discomfort. Once they had her hair up they covered it. Akari wiped the tears caused by their painful manipulation of her hair away and looked at them oddly.

She brushed it off, not feeling right saying something about it because they were being kind to her. She grabbed her coat and slipped it on. The other girls gave each other looks before leading her to a large dining room. The table was covered with food and lined with girls who all looked at their hands folded in their laps.

None of them had their hair covered.

"Excuse me-" she tried to speak up. The older woman snapped her fingers and grabbed Akari's jaw tightly.

"Silence, you will not speak unless spoken to." She said firmly and released her grip on Akari's jaw before straightening out her clothes. "Here you will learn to be a proper woman. You will learn to eat properly, speak properly, think properly, and dress properly." The woman ripped the coat off of Akari.

The eight-year-old squeaked and tried to protest but got a backhanded slap to her cheek.

"This is not proper dress." The woman snapped and ripped the white coat to shreds.

Akari teared up. The one thing she truly owned was destroyed. The gift the kind man had given her.

The woman curled her lip a bit at Akari. "You will show no negative emotions. Sit." She ordered.

Akari glanced around at the other girls as she sat. None of them looked at her, none of them acknowledged her. So she looked at her hands and attempted to hold in her tears.

A sharp whack to her back made her wince and gasp. "Back straight! Shoulders back!" The woman snapped.

Things continued that way for decades since that's about how often they seemed to age. Akari couldn't escape.

She was taught many lessons.

A woman should never give her opinion.

A woman should never do something for, or help a man with something because it embarrasses him.

Strength is not a trait a woman should possess.

A woman exists only to serve her husband and make him look good.

A woman who can't cook is worthless.

Never show skin.

That any attribute that made her stand out was ugly and unsightly.

Lessons like this were drilled into her head.

In her time at the "school", Akari realized what it was really for.

Every now and again the girls were lined up and a man would come in and look at them. Then one of the girls would disappear.

Akari realized that they were being sold, and it terrified her.

Once she realized this, Akari would spit at any man who stopped to look at her. Each time she did it she was beaten, but it didn't stop her.

The girls were often taken on outings to gain the attention of potential "husbands." During these outings, Akari had noticed a few people in familiar black and white uniforms. She would break off from the group and follow them.

The few who were always there always seemed to be practicing something. It was some sort of magic that made things explode.

Akari committed this to memory and still would break off, despite being beaten each time. When she was locked in her room she would try to mimic the magic that she'd seen those people do.

No matter what, she'd break off to find them.

The last time she saw them, she heard them mention something about an academy of sorts. This caught her attention. Her "school" had made her a bit nervous about other schools, what if they were the same way? But from how these two acted, it wasn't anything similar.

Akari decided then that she would somehow escape her "school" and go to this other academy. Something about it seemed familiar about the idea. It felt like she had to go there.

For days and days, she continued to practice the magic she'd seen, with little to no success.

She began to think that she didn't have what it took to get to the academy, but still, she tried.

One night, all of her hard work paid off. She created a bright red sphere that she couldn't control. As soon as she produced it, it flew from her finger and in a spiral motion towards the wall she was facing before it exploded.

She was lucky she'd been facing the outside wall since it left a hole in it.

Akari's eyes widened and she was frozen for a minute. Once she realized what happened, she took off and ran through the hole.

She was finally free!

She ran and ran until she couldn't anymore. She didn't want her teacher to find her.

She was never going back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finding this new academy was more difficult than Akari expected. In her decades in the rukongai she hadn't seen much other than the "school" she'd been basically held hostage in.

She now appeared to be 12 and it was hard to get her questions answered seriously. She was told she was too young to join the academy, but that didn't deter her.

Akari kept walking until the hunger started again. She ignored it to the best of her ability, but it soon began to affect her. She stumbled and tried to barter for food but was having no luck.

A hand placed some money on the counter beside her. "Whatever she's asking for, I'll buy it." The older woman who placed the money down said.

Akari flinched while the vendor placed food in front of her. "Thank you miss, but I can't accept this." She said.

The older woman looked a bit confused. "Then at least come and eat. Maybe rest for a while, I could use the company." She said and smiled warmly.

Akari shook her head, she wasn't going to let that happen again.

The older woman looked confused. She noticed how nervous the girl had become around her. "Something bad has happened to you." She said.

Akari didn't look at her. Her bangs fell over her eyes but the rest of her hair was still covered. She'd learned to be so ashamed of her hair.

"I will not force you to come with me. If you wish, I can bring a pack of food and clothes to you." The woman offered.

Akari took a nervous breath. "I will not enter your home." She said firmly. She didn't want to trust the woman.

The woman agreed and led Akari to her small home. Akari didn't get close. She waited for the woman to come back.

The woman returned with a bag and a smile. "Here you go. If you ever need help, you can return here. Only if you want." She assured.

Akari wasn't sure what to say. On one hand, she didn't trust the kindness she'd been given. On the other hand, she enjoyed the feeling that being cared about gave her.

"I... I can't repay you..." Akari finally mumbled.

The woman just smiled. "It's fine dear. Just take care of yourself." She told her.

Akari left the woman and continued on her journey. It took a while but she eventually reached the academy.

Once she displayed the so-called magic that she had learned, she was admitted.

School here was much different than the "school" she'd attended before. But, she still kept her head down. She still hid her hair. She would not answer questions, even if she knew the answer.

She stopped and moved out of the way for people to walk by her. When sparring, she wouldn't allow herself to win. She wouldn't even attack if she was given a male partner.

She never overtook the male students.

Never make a man feel inadequate. Always make them feel more important than you. It was a lesson she'd been taught.

She was having a very hard time escaping the lessons that were both figuratively and literally beaten into her.

Being late for class was terrifying for her due to past experiences. She'd slept in and was trying to make it to her class when she ran into someone.

The lessons from the past kicked in and she immediately bowed, only then noticing that her hair had been uncovered in the collision. "I'm so sorry!" She apologized.

The man she bumped into was quiet for a minute before helping her stand straight. "Don't worry, it was an accident." He assured as he helped her with the class papers that she had dropped. He then picked up the cover that she used for her hair.

He finally got a look at her. Hair that seemed to flicker like flames and red eyes. She seemed familiar to him. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded and covered her hair again. "I'm fine, please don't worry about me." She dismissed his worry and bowed again.

She hardly glanced up for a few seconds, but it was long enough to notice that the man had red hair and golden eyes.

"You know, I don't know why you cover your hair. It's very pretty." He complimented.

Akari stared at him with wide eyes and a small blush rose to her face. In her memory, no one had ever complimented her hair.

"Thank you..." she mumbled. She then suddenly remembered why she had been rushing. "Oh no, I'm late!"

The older boy smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, it's this your first time being late?" He asked.

She nodded, still very nervous.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. But really, it's your first time being late you won't get in too much trouble." He assured her.

She smiled a bit and took off to her class.

The older teen looked after her. That hair was the same as the little girl he'd met years ago. But he expected her to be an adult now, not a teenager.

Akari graduated and became a soul reaper, nowhere near the top of her class. She knew her zanpakutou's name but the blade never listened to her. She always said that Akari's inner world was all but locked away and so her true power was locked away as well.

She no longer hid her hair, but it was still worn up.

She joined a squad and she worked hard. The captain of her squad was kind and often treated her a bit like a child.

On solo missions, she did well but once she was put on a team she got hurt. Her previous "training" to never outshine a man always got in the way.

Other soul reapers began to make fun of her for it.

She'd been a soul reaper for two years now, but she still couldn't get out of her own head.

The hollow she was currently fighting with her assigned team was a bit rough. She had already been knocked around several times.

One of her teammates went to help her up but another stopped them. "Just let her stay down. She's useless anyway." He spat.

He glared down at her. "If you really want to help then throw yourself at the hollow and while it's busy eating you, we'll kill it." He snarled.

Akari didn't get up as the others continued to fight. Rage started to well up inside her. She wanted to prove herself. She wanted to fight, actually fight.

The same teammate that had berated her was grabbed by the hollow. It began using him as a shield so that the others wouldn't attack it.

_Unleash your anger, show your true feelings. Show them what you're made of!_

Something in her snapped. She stood and gripped her blade tightly. She attacked the hollow, ignoring the shouts of the captured teammate.

Her wrist pulled her blade back and then flicked it forward. A large blade of flames engulfed the hollow and the captured soul reaper.

Both screeched and the hollow dropped the soul reaper. Akari attacked and sliced through the hollows mask.

The other soul reapers cared for their burnt teammate, but Akari didn't care.

She landed back on her feet and glared coldly at her team as the hollow fell. "Who's useless now?" She spat and walked away.

She changed after that. She would lash out and fight just about anyone for the smallest thing. Her hair was no longer worn up and her uniform no longer worn perfectly.

She no longer cared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Akari, but I am very mean to her.


	28. Becoming A Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's where we get a bit darker.  
> Originally typed in October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter includes underage drinking, mentions of rape (no descriptions), teenage pregnancy, and birth.

Everyone had noticed the change in Akari. She no longer spoke respectfully to anyone but the head captain, she threatened anyone who tried to bring up what had happened.

Almost everyone.

Kuski had become friends with her since running into her in the academy. He'd recommended her to her captain because he thought the squad would be a good fit for her. He'd helped her practice fighting on occasion and helped her try to unlock more powers in her zanpakutou.

She didn't fight him, or her captain. Those two were the only ones she felt she could trust even the smallest bits. If either of them would bring up the incident that made her snap, she'd ignore it.

Kuski noticed the changes in her, and it worried him. He was happy that she seemed more confident and wasn't holding back anymore, but the change was so drastic and came with many others. Despite the changes, he stayed friendly with her.

She would need someone who wouldn't leave.

He did his best not to give her a reason to fight him. He still trained with her, and now she had no problem unleashing the power she knew she had. He offered to eat with her so that she wouldn't be alone. He also became one of the very few who was willing to go on missions with her.

She didn't seem to mind or notice.

One of her squad members also noticed the change and decided that she would help Akari calm down. She offered to take the younger soul reaper out to drink, claiming that it would loosen her up.

Akari went with it, wanting to escape the trap she'd gotten herself into. She wasn't sure if she was considered old enough to drink but she didn't care. She sat at the bar and allowed the older soul reaper to order a drink for her.

She drank and she felt happy. She laughed along with her teammate. She joked with her. She felt free.

But that's all she remembered. Her alcohol tolerance was extremely low, a single drink had her a bit more than buzzed, three drinks made her memory go blank.

She woke up in the morning feeling sick and in pain. Her head pounded, she felt sick to her stomach and there was a pain in her hips. She didn't know where she was but she was alone and naked.

Akari wasn't entirely ignorant of things like this. She knew what sex was thanks to lessons in her old "school".

They were taught to let their husbands do whatever they liked, whatever made them feel good. They were taught that how they felt didn't matter.

It didn't take her long to realize what had happened while she was drunk, she began to cry.

She felt filthy and disgusted. There were bruises here and there, even a few bite marks. They all ached or stung.

Once she dressed she rushed to the hot springs and made sure there was no one there. She spent hours there and the more she thought, the more she thought of what she could remember.

It felt like freedom to her, she didn't have to think about anything. Sure she woke up like this but she still enjoyed the feelings that she had memory of.

So Akari drank just about every night. She went alone and, every morning, woke up somewhere different. Many times with injuries of some sort. Once she'd even woken up with a broken arm.

But she still drank, because it freed her from the title she'd earned. It freed her from the Red Demon.

This all worried Kuski more. He didn't know what happened to her, other than her getting drunk and coming in hungover. He took care of her when she did.

She didn't keep drinking for long after the night where she'd gotten her arm broken. Her urge to drink was suddenly gone.

It made Kuski happy to see her stop, but it became obvious that something was wrong. She was still just as exhausted as if she'd stayed out all night and one day he found her throwing up. He stayed by her until she stopped.

"How long has this been happening?" He asked.

Akari sniffled and wiped her mouth. "A few days..." she mumbled.

He helped her up. "Let's get you to the infirmary and find out what's wrong." He told her.

She nodded and leaned on the older soul reaper for support.

He took her to the infirmary and waited outside for her. He wasn't going to stay in the room with her if a physical was required of course.

It was a short while before Akari left the infirmary and stomped past him.

He quickly followed. "Did she say what was wrong?" He asked.

Akari didn't answer him, instead, she stopped and punched a wooden beam. She punched it hard enough to split her knuckles.

"Akari!" Kuski gasped and pulled her into his room in the barracks to bandage her hand. "Why would you do that?" He asked gently.

Akari was silent for a few minutes. Finally, she mumbled, "I'm pregnant..."

Kuski froze and stared at her. She was basically a 14 year old, even if she'd been in the soul society for decades. How could this have happened to her?

"I uh... how?" He questioned.

She didn't look at him. Instead, she stared at her now bandaged hand. "I have no idea what happens when I drink... other than I wake up somewhere different each time... the father could be almost literally anyone." She answered.

He went silent again. He didn't know what to do or what to tell her. He nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, well... first we need to tell your captain. You can't be on active duty." He told her.

He was a big brother, he'd seen his mother go through pregnancy before.

Akari nodded and started to cry. She was scared. Never had she taken care of another person in her life. She'd never even seen a baby, how was she supposed to take care of one?

She followed Kuski to tell her captain. The look the captain gave her was one she couldn't decipher, but he didn't really seem too disappointed. He took her off of active duty and gave her an empty office to work on paperwork for now. When she got later into pregnancy then she would work from home.

Because she wished to keep her pregnancy as secret as possible.

Kuski offered to take the role of her delivery boy so that no one else would be informed. He was the main person to help her.

It had been a few months since Akari found out she was pregnant. She had quickly gone to working out of the small apartment she'd gotten because she didn't trust sleeping around others.

Kuski hadn't been on a mission since Akari found out. It was requested that he be under Akari's squad's orders for a while, and it was granted. He ran papers to her and brought finished ones back. He kept her company and double-checked her work.

He knocked and entered Akari's home as had become normal for him. "Hey, brought some more papers for you." He said and smiled.

Akari sat at her table, making sure that her finished files were all together. "Hi, Kuski." She greeted and yawned. Her exhaustion hadn't gotten much better.

Kuski smiled and sat next to her. "You know you can take your time. Your captain is just having you do something so that you keep getting paid." He said.

She frowned a little bit. "I know that, but I want to earn the money." She explained.

He nodded a little in understanding. "So I have some news... my mom found out she's pregnant. Crazy huh?" He said.

Akari was the one to nod this time, but she didn't say anything so he went on.

"You know you can ask her anything you need to." He reminded her.

She looked at him. "I know... but I don't know what to ask." She said.

He understood that. Akari knew nothing about pregnancy, how would she know what to ask about it.

After a few minutes of just sitting with Akari, Kuski got up to grab her some snacks. He got distracted and turned back to her when he heard her squeak. He rushed back to her side, "what's wrong?" He asked.

She was staring at her baby bump in what appeared to be fear. "I-I don't know... something happened in my belly." She said nervously.

Kuski looked at her belly. "May I feel?" He asked. He had a hunch but wanted to confirm it.

When he got a yes he gently placed a hand on her stomach and felt around. It didn't take long before he felt what he was searching for. He laughed quietly. "Your baby kicked, that's all." He reassured her.

"It... it moved?" She asked.

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, now you'll be able to feel them kick." He told her.

The look of fear in her eyes changed to one of almost childish wonder. "The baby kicked." She mumbled and rubbed her belly.

The sparkle that had shown in her eyes back in the academy was back. But, it reminded Kuski that she was still basically a child. That there were multiple men out there who took advantage of a young girl who'd been given alcoholic drinks.

It disgusted him, but he never said anything to Akari about it. She was stressing out about it enough already. She didn't need him bringing that up.

Kuski continued to take care of Akari. He took her to talk to his mother to help her feel better. He even went as far as to carry her when she was exhausted. It embarrassed her and made her squeak but he wouldn't let her tell him no, she was supposed to stay off Her feet.

His family helped provide her with things that she would need for her baby. She hated being so dependent on them, but she was also grateful. She tried to offer some sort of repayment but they refused.

It started to get colder and Kuski refused to leave Akari by herself. He'd get her and take her to his family home and have his mother and younger sister keep her company. It was good for her. She got to learn more about children and pregnancy by talking to his mother.

Kuski's mother, who's belly had grown as well, would knit while Akari would work on the papers that Kuski brought her. Some of the clothes that his mother made were for the child she was expecting, the others were for Akari's child. This included small blankets as well.

Winter was there, but it had yet to snow. Akari was around seven months pregnant according to the head of the infirmary. She expected her baby to be born in two months. For now, she was completely relaxed, and a bit more exhausted than before.

Her baby had incredibly strong kicks, or it seemed so. It would kick her directly in the ribs. It hurt and always woke her up. It didn't help that she had been getting cramps. She'd been told that muscle cramps were normal so she paid them no mind and tried to ignore them.

She chewed on ice chips as she worked on this week's stack of papers. When her hand that wasn't writing wasn't picking up once chips, it was resting on her belly. Her baby hadn't kicked all day and while it was refreshing, it concerned her.

The cramps in her belly eventually got to the point that she had to stop working. Kuski's mother noticed and helped her lean back.

"Dear, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I think you're in labor." She said calmly.

Calm is not what Akari felt. "What?! N-no, it can't happen now... it's too soon!" She tried to argue.

The woman who had become like a mother to Akari rubbed Akari's shoulders. "I know, but the baby decided it wants to be born now." She said. She was doing her best to calm down the young, soon to be mother.

Kuski's mother and sister quickly prepared a bed for Akari to lay down in.

Akari couldn't relax, she couldn't calm down. "It's not time." She kept mumbling.

"I'm afraid the baby says it's time dear." Kuski's mother kept trying to calm her. She understood the fear that could come with giving birth and the fact that going into labor earlier than expected was concerning for any mother.

When Akari's water broke she started to cry, because of more than the pain. She cried because now it was clear she was having the baby.

After hours and hours of horrible pain, Akari finally gave birth. The baby was small but not small enough that he wouldn't be able to survive.

He cried once he was born and he seemed healthy, he was just small.

He was carefully handed to Akari and though she was exhausted, she felt a warmth spread through her chest as she looked at her baby boy.

She could see nothing in him that resembled her. His hair and eyes were completely different. He must have gotten them from his father.

But she didn't care, he was beautiful. A single name came to mind when she looked at him, and that's the name she gave him.

Once the entire process of birth was complete, Akari fell asleep. She was very lucky to have the help that she had.

Kuski returned home expecting to see paperwork finished as usual but the partially completed stack of papers sat on the table and it was a concern to him. It was unlike Akari to leave that much unfinished.

He searched the house and found his mother holding a small bundle in her arms. "Is that...?" He trailed off.

"Akari's son? Yes, it is." His mother answered and smiled. "Come take a look at him."

Kuski came closer and looked over the newborn. "How is Akari?" He asked.

His mother, without asking, gently handed the newborn to Kuski. "She's exhausted and sore, and I think she's scared." She answered.

Kuski looked down at the sleeping baby in his arms. "He's cute..." he said. He carefully shifted the baby's weight to be more comfortable. "He's got an interesting hair color." He observed.

His mother smiled and rubbed her own belly as he sat beside her. "It's so different from hers." She said.

Kuski nodded a bit but a disgusted look crossed his features. "He must have gotten it from his garbage can of a father." He said.

His mother sighed. "Don't say that Kuski. She was so happy to hold her baby. I don't want that ruined because you get disgusted about his father." She said. "I'm not saying what he did was right at all, the men who did that to her are disgusting, but this baby isn't them." She finished.

Kuski relaxed a bit. "I know..." he said.

It was a short time before the newborn started to get fussy. Kuski rocked him, trying to get him to calm down. That didn't work very well though since the baby was hungry.

For the first few days, the new mother and her newborn lived with Kuski and his family. They wouldn't let her go home and be completely alone with her baby.

It was hard for Akari to fall into a routine with the baby, but she absolutely loved him.

Finally, the day came that she went home, but she wasn't alone. Kuski and his sister checked on her daily, sometimes staying with her so that she wouldn't be alone.

Akari felt genuinely happy for the first time in her memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say, a lot of the tags happen to one character, and that poor character is Akari and most of them have happened here within these last few chapters.


	29. Reconnecting With Her Zanpakutou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another fairly dark chapter. But just as excited to post this again because of character introductions.   
> Originally typed in October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this part includes hinted sexual abuse, forced pregnancy, self-injury, death, implied mental abuse, scars, and loss of pregnancy. Please take care when reading.

Karin Kurosaki loved her family dearly, even with how annoying they could beat times. But, she sometimes needed to get away from them. She needed time to think where she wouldn't be questioned about what was on her mind. 

Yes, she appreciated the attention and appreciated that they cared enough to pay attention. However, no matter how much she loved and trusted her family, there were things that she didn't feel like talking to them about. She had school friends, but no one close enough to be a confidant. 

Today she'd gone out to the park and was kicking her soccer ball around. There were other people at the park but none seemed interested in playing, not that she minded. She came here to think so having someone to play with didn't really matter at the moment. 

She kicked her ball a bit too hard and it went out of her self-designated field. It bounced over to the more populated area of the park. She grumbled and went to look for it, apologizing to people that she cut off or bumped into. 

"I take it that you were looking for this?" A voice asked.

A red-eyed woman stood behind Karin holding the missing soccer ball out towards her with a small smile on her face. 

Karin eyed her suspiciously and took the ball. 

"Thanks," she muttered. 

Something about this woman felt odd, but not offputting. The feeling that Karin got from her was warm. 

"It was no problem. Be a bit more careful though, you don't want to lose your ball." The woman told her. 

Karin recognized her tone, it was a motherly one. She'd heard it come from her older sister often. While the tone was motherly, it wasn't scolding. It seemed to have a sad undertone to it, though Karin couldn't imagine why. 

The woman walked over to a bench and sat down.

Karin watched her for a minute before following. "What're you doing?" She asked. 

The woman smiled a little bit. "I come here to get away, and to people watch I guess." She answered. 

Karin shifted her soccer ball to her hip. "Aren't you worried you'll seem creepy?" She asked. 

The woman shook her head. "I'm not worried. I just want to be around people sometimes." She said. Her eyes wandered over to the playground where several young children were playing. Their parents or babysitters were nearby or playing with them. 

Karin noticed this. "Is your kid over there with a sitter or something?" She asked. She was starting to feel more comfortable with the woman but wasn't letting her guard down completely yet. 

The red eyes of the woman focused on the ground now and more sadness worked into her expression. "No, my child is far away. How'd you guess I was a mom?" She questioned. 

Karin shrugged a bit. "The way you talked to me, my big sister has that motherly tone." She said and sat down next to the woman on the bench. "You alright?" She asked.

The woman ran a hand through her hair. "Yes and no I guess. But it's not really something I should dump on you." She told her. 

Karin looked over at her. To her, it looked like this woman needed someone to talk to, someone who would listen. "I get that I'm a kid, and a stranger, but if you want a friend then I'm here." She told the woman. "I'm Karin." 

The woman found herself smiling a little bit. "I'm Akari." She replied, "And you're right. I think I could use a friend." She said. 

Karin nodded and leaned back against the back of the bench. "So, how old is your kid?" She asked.

Akari looked at the dark-haired girl. Her mannerisms made her smile a bit. "Around your age." She answered. 

Karin nodded again to show that she was listening. 

Akari looked away from her and back at the kids playing in the park. "But I was forced to leave him years ago... I come and watch kids play to kind of try and relive being a mom." She continued. Though it hurt her to see all the happy parents and their children, she couldn't stay away.

She liked to imagine herself and the four kids she looked after here. How the oldest boy would playfully tease the younger and get him to do something that he'd been nervous about. He would have no problem helping the younger boy across the monkey bars if he actually asked.

How the youngest boy would stand by nervously as the oldest helped the girls with something they asked of him. He would eventually claim that he could do whatever they were all doing by himself and give it his best shot.

The oldest girl would likely sit in the grass among the clovers and teach the youngest girl how to tie them into jewelry.

The youngest girl, who was the youngest of the group would bounce around from person to person but spend most of her time with the youngest boy. He would follow her around after all. 

Akari found herself sighing a bit.

Karin looked over at her again. "You know... If I knew my mom was still out there, I'd try to find her. Maybe your kid will find you." She spoke up. The thought made her a bit sad but she pushed it down like she always did. 

Akari slowly shook her head. "He'd hate me. I never told him why I left and I wouldn't doubt that he thinks I'm dead." She told her. 

Akari knew for a fact that her son and nearly all others in the soul society thought that she had died. 

Karin frowned. "That's not a great feeling..." She said. 

Akari looked up from the ground hoping that the young girl would keep speaking. 

"My mom died when I was little. I mainly know her through pictures and stories my dad and older sister tell." Karin's jaw clenched a bit but then relaxed a little. 

She fixed Akari with a fairly stern look. "You're still alive. Your son still has a mother and you obviously care about him. You at least owe him an explanation for why you've been gone." She found herself snapping at the older woman. 

She couldn't help but imagine how she would feel if she found out her mother was alive and just away from them for so long without saying a word about why. 

This woman had a child who thought that she was dead when she wasn't. As much as Karin hid it and accepted that her mother was gone, she sometimes wished that she knew her. 

Akari let out a short, light laugh. "You're a smart girl. But, I can't go back to him yet. I want to, I want so badly to, but I'm not in a good situation right now. I don't want to take that to him..." She trailed off. 

Karin stretched and held her ball in her lap. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again. Even if he gets mad at you for being gone."

Akari once again looked at the ground. "I hope that you're right. All I've ever wanted for him was to feel loved. To be safe and happy..." Another sigh passed her lips, "But I would bring danger to him and I'm not strong enough to protect him." She said. 

Karin scoffed a bit, not trying to be rude but Akari seemed to need some sense talked into her. "What's stopping you from getting stronger? If you get stronger then you don't have to worry." She told her.

Akari stayed silent, Karin was right. Akari had fought hollows but hadn't trained since she'd been in the world of the living. It was starting to show too, she was having more trouble defeating hollows that would have been no problem before. 

She was getting weaker, but that didn't have to happen. There was a place she could go to train and now was the first time she even thought of using it.

Back before all of this happened, everything with _Him_ and her faked death, she would train with her zanpakutou in its shikai form at least once a day. So long as there wasn't an emergency with the kids.

She hadn't so much as listened to her zanpakutou's voice in such a long time. The two were disconnected and it showed when Akari fought.

A lingering thought, one that she had forced away so many times, resurfaced once again. The thought that _He_ was lying to her. That her children wouldn't be kept safe. He'd already gotten one of her children killed. He'd forced her to watch as he transformed the oldest into a monster. A monster that was part soul reaper and part hollow where the hollow had more control of him than his own mind. He then sent the transformed boy into the seireitei to cause chaos.

Before the boy came to his senses he'd even attacked those who grew up closest to him, Akari's other children. It had been her son, who the boy thought of like a younger brother, who was forced to kill him in front of the girls.

 _He_ had after that forced Akari to watch as he used the boy's death as a way to get closest to the oldest girl. How the girl clung to him even more than she had before. It absolutely sickened her.

Akari had been forced to watch it all happen as punishment for an injury that she'd gotten on purpose. One that nearly killed her and left a long, raised scar over her lower abdomen. One that she already felt guilty over getting because she had used it to end the one life that _He_ had managed to implant in her.

She hadn't wanted any of this, and given the chance, she might have welcomed a new baby. But not with this man, not after all he'd done to her and her children. Not after she knew what he planned with any child she birthed him. It would be a child that didn't feel love, it would be a child that would be tortured into being stronger. And, on the chance that she wouldn't have given him a son, the child would be turned into another experimental monster. 

_He_ always made sure that she knew exactly what he would do with any child she gave him, it was another form of torture for her. Knowing she was pregnant that time was even more terrifying for her than when she found out she was pregnant with her son. She couldn't have handled seeing a child in his hands, so she'd nearly gotten herself killed.

Because of that injury, her oldest boy had been killed too. To repay for the child of _his_ that she didn't carry. What was stopping him from hurting the other children over something as simple as a slip of her tongue or refusing to do the smallest thing?

Akari took a deep breath and moved her hand over the scar on her abdomen, a reminder of what he'd done that wouldn't go away. A new resolve grew inside her. "You're right. I can't just sit here and do nothing." She said. 

Karin smiled a bit and nodded once again. "That's better." She told her. 

Akari ruffled the girl's hair. "Thanks, and if you ever have anything you need to talk about, I'll be here every now and again." She said.

Karin kept smiling at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't let you talk much about yourself," Akari spoke up.

Karin, this time, shook her head. "It's fine, go on." She dismissed.

Akari smiled a bit more and headed toward the place where she could train. She would have to get permission first though, and from someone she wasn't the fondest of. 

She entered the little shop and waited to be noticed. It didn't take long and the shop owner crossed his arms.

"My, how rare it is to see you here." He said.

Akari ignored the tone he was using to talk down to her. "Urahara, I need to use your training room." She demanded. 

The blond man looked a bit surprised. In all the time he'd known her to be in the world of the living, she'd never come to him for this. She mainly showed up when her gigai needed a repair.

"This is quite an unusual request from you." He said and started heading for the underground training room connected to his shop. He didn't tell her no and was simply curious about what she was up to.

Akari glared at his back as she followed him. "I don't want to hear it." She snapped before heading down the ladder once he revealed it. 

She found a space that seemed wide open and comfortable before exiting her gigai and taking a seat on the warm, artificially sun-baked ground. She closed her eyes and started meditating, for the first time in what felt like forever, she was trying to enter her inner world. 

An almost calming warmth brushed her skin and that was when she opened her eyes.

Cooled black lava made up the ground as far as she could see. The only things breaking it were red lotuses, even though they shouldn't have been able to survive there, and pale streams of fresh but cooling lava. The streams gave it a bit more color, but they were almost completely still and cool now. 

Her inner world was much cooler in temperature than she remembered it being and it made her a bit sad. 

She let out a sigh and looked around for her zanpakutou spirit. There was no success in locating the spirit and after a few minutes more of looking around the seemingly inhospitable landscape, she resorted to calling out. 

"Ethne, come out." She tried to draw the spirit out. 

"Now why would I do that? You obviously don't want anything to do with me." A voice snapped. 

Akari let out another exasperated sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "Ethne, please..." She grumbled. 

"You haven't spoken to or even bothered listening to me in forever!" The young voice snapped.

"I know, Ethne. I promise that won't be happening again, I need you." Akari tried to reason.

A girl with very dark red hair and flickering flame eyes appeared in front of her. The young girl had two large, flaming tails and her ears were long and pointed. Though they were pointed, her ears weren't so much like an elf's as a fox's. While they lacked fur on the outside, there were tufts on the inside the same color as the girl's hair. She had beast-like paws and feet, both of which were covered in soft fur the same color as her hair.

Her tails swayed lazily behind her as she crossed her arms and pouted. "Yeah, so why do you need me now?" She demanded to know.

Akari clenched her jaw and stared directly into the sword spirit's slitted pupils. "I need to get stronger." She said firmly.

Ethne's eyes flickered a bit in hope. She'd been so bored without her master coming to train with her or even stopping by just to speak, though back then it was mostly bragging about her children's accomplishments. Like the oldest girl entering the soul reaper academy. 

"Oh?" The spirit all but cooed. 

Her master's head nodded. "I need to get stronger to protect my family. I need my strength back to get away from him!" She spat.

Ethne's eyes narrowed. She knew that man all too well. He was the one who had caused her world to cool. He was the one who caused her master to ignore her. 

"Yeah, let's get stronger and destroy that dick!" Ethne cheered. The flames on her tails flared and momentarily grew out of control as she threw her paw-like hands into the air. The lotus pendant on the chain around her neck shined in the light from her tails.

Akari smiled a bit. Her zanpakutou's spirit was a bit refreshing. She reached out and pet the girl's hair which might have felt as though it was on fire to anyone else. To Akari, it only felt warm. 

Ethne now grinned, showing off her fangs and summoned the sword version of herself into her hand. "Then you know what to do next." She challenged. 

"That I do," Akari said and formed another copy of Ethne's sword form in her hands. 

The two charged at each other and the training began. 

Taunts were thrown back and forth as they trained. Ethne's taunts mostly being about how Akari had lost her flexibility, speed, and overall power. Akari's were more aimed at Ethne's age or little bits about her appearance, it was just to get each other riled up. 

It didn't take too long before they fell back into the rhythm that they'd developed in training a long time ago.

Days passed and the two continued to train this way before long Akari was able to activate Ethne's shikai form again. 

The rivers and streams of lava in Akari's inner world were once again flowing and it was nearly back to its former temperature. Her blade was sharpening again and she was feeling less broken.

Hollows were becoming slightly easier to defeat when she came across them while checking up on the orange-haired soul reaper and his friends, which she still had to do. 

There wasn't too much to report to him for now though. The boy was still recovering from his fight with the menos but his sister did start training, Angel did too.

When they would be there to train Akari would make sure that she wasn't. She wanted to see them get stronger but she couldn't afford them noticing her yet. So while they trained their powers, she trained her body.

Running, weightlifting, and anything else she could do to strengthen the muscles that she'd allowed to soften over time. It was hard work but she knew she had to do it. 

_He_ didn't seem to notice the changes in Akari when he demanded that she come to speak to him suddenly. It was harder for her to push down the part of her that wanted to slit his throat and get this all over with though. 

Her hands twitched as she restrained herself from lashing out when his hands were placed on her body.

"I'm excited, dear." He said in an almost fond voice. "My plan is progressing, the most crucial parts are advancing." His fingers threaded through her hair.

Her jaw clenched. "And you promise that none of them will be hurt?" She asked.

A smirk crossed his lips. "Of course they won't be hurt, so long as you're a good little girl." He cooed in her ear.

How Akari hated being called that, her insides twisted and it made her sick to her stomach. But, she said nothing against it. If she did, then she would be punished. She wanted so badly to fight him but now was not the right time. Until she strengthened herself more, she couldn't risk it.

She had to let him do what he liked to her for now.

Once he finished with her, she didn't go check on her children as she usually did. Instead, she went to leave.

Before she left, she stopped and looked back over the seireitei. An idea popped into her head and she pondered over it. If she went with it then it was likely she would never be able to use this entrance to the seireitei again.

If it worked in with _His_ plan then it would make it worse on herself once all of this was over. It was possible that it could throw a wrench in his plan too. She wouldn't be able to come here at all and give him information because her existence would be known and others would be looking for her. 

There were many cons to this idea, but she decided to go with it. She took a breath and allowed herself to let out a large burst of her spiritual pressure. She then rushed through the portal back to the world of the living and closed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inside of the seireitei, many felt the blast of spiritual pressure. Some recognized it and rushed to spread the news.

The red demon was alive.

Two young soul reapers froze at feeling the spiritual pressure. They both knew it well.

The boy felt his body stiffen and his eyes widened. He stopped working and held his quill still as he tried to process the information, which was usually no problem for him. 

He couldn't move.

His office door was thrown open and a dark-haired girl rushed in before slamming the door shut. She was both frantic and excited. "Did you feel that?!" She slammed her hands down on the boy's desk. Her breathing was slightly heavy from having rushed to her little brother's office. "That was Mom! It had to be!"

The boy just nodded, he wasn't sure how to respond. 

How could they have felt their mother's spiritual pressure? She'd been dead for a long time.

But, if they felt her spiritual pressure then that meant she was alive, right?

No remains had ever been found and they simply had a captain's word saying that she had died while on a mission to the world of the living. They were told that she'd been torn apart by hollows.

The two headed out to investigate, to see if they could possibly find their mother. Instead of finding her, they found a spot on the ground where scorch marks spread out in every direction. Both had learned that to be a sort of calling card of their mother. 

Her spiritual pressure was a fire type and she could easily lose control of the effects on the area around her if she wasn't paying attention. 

The boy knelt down and ran a finger over one of the scorch marks. There were definitely traces of her spiritual pressure left here.

"The question is, if she didn't die, then where has she been? Why haven't we heard from her?" He ground his teeth together as he spoke. Anger was starting to bubble up inside him. "Where was she when Kuro died?!" He snapped.

The girl clasped her hands and looked down at the marks, that being brought up always caused her mood to darken. But her brother was right, where was she when that happened? Some doubt about her mother started to surface.

The boy stood and adjusted the strap holding his zanpakutou to his back. He didn't seem to notice how upset the girl had become.

First the order about Rukia Kuchiki, now this. Trouble was certainly brewing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sweet children! They all need the hugs.


	30. Thank You For Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uryu seems to have been adopted into the friend group by accident, Hana and Angel spend bonding time with the other girls.  
> Originally typed in October 2018

School was normal for the teens, despite what had happened and Ichigo and Uruyu getting injured. Despite Angel and Hana's training, they still seemed like regular students. The only difference was that they were fussing a bit over Ichigo and Uryu.

Ichigo was used to it, he would brush them off by telling them he was fine. But that never worked, he ended up with new bandages frequently and being fed high energy foods to bring his spiritual pressure back up.

Uryu wasn't quite sure how to handle it. It seemed to embarrass him. Hana always offered to take care of his injuries the same way that she would Ichigo's. Though the Quincy boy's bandages were almost nearly perfect and the injury well cared for, Hana still offered her services in taking care of it.

She still wanted to help.

He always refused of course, but that didn't stop Hana from worrying over him. He'd unknowingly been added into her friend group, so she would offer to care for him just like she would anyone else.

Hana and Angel had fallen a little behind in their schoolwork, though they wouldn't allow the others to know. They worked on it together before training but both had their issues in certain classes. If they came across assignments that they didn't understand, then they would put them off until later. But, they almost always forgot about them once they returned to their homes.

School was still normal, despite it being noticeable that something seemed wrong with Ichigo. He had gone quiet for quite a while. Hana tried to cheer him up but was having trouble. Ichigo got this way when he was stuck in his own mind and it was hard to get him out of it.

There was no use in her asking if he was alright, he just said that he was fine and tried to brush her off. It just served to worry Hana more.

The orange-haired girl was brought out of her thoughts when Angel poked her shoulder. "You alright, Hana?" She asked.

Hana blinked as she came back to her senses, coming out of the memories of the past week or so. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is it lunchtime already?" She asked.

Angel nodded and smiled. Her things were already in her bag and ready to go to lunch.

Hana took a moment to pick up her things before she stood. "Let's go get our lunches." She told her.

The older girl leads the way as the two walked over to Ichigo and Keigo. "I'll go grab your lunch, Ichigo. I'll be able to find you at the usual spot right?" Hana asked her little brother.

Ichigo nodded a bit but wasn't fully paying attention. He was looking somewhere else.

Hana gave him a pat on the back before heading off to her locker with Angel in order to grab the three lunches and the tub of cookies she'd hidden in there when she arrived at school.

Angel took this chance alone with Hana to question her health, it had been worrying her a bit since they started training. She wondered if her older friend's heart was strong enough to do the training. "How are you feeling today?" She asked. It had become a daily question.

Hana pulled the tub of cookies out of her locker and placed them in her bag before grabbing the lunches and handing one to Angel. "I'm actually feeling a lot better. My heart doesn't seem to be beating so oddly now." She told her.

Angel smiled, she felt relieved that her friend's heart problems seemed to go away. It made her feel hopeful that she wouldn't ever have to see another episode of Hana's soul being forced out of her body.

"That's great." She chirped.

Hana smiled and the two made their way up to the roof to give Ichigo his lunch.

Upon reaching the group, the girls were surprised to see that they had added someone new, Uryu.

Hana ignored Keigo's odd gestures that were obviously meant to be used for joke or storytelling and handed Ichigo his lunch. "Here you go." She said.

Ichigo looked away from his conversation with Uryu to take his lunch. "Thanks, are you two going to eat with us?" He asked once realizing neither of them had sat down where they usually would.

Hana smiled and shook her head. "Nope, Orihime invited us to eat with her group. We're going to go and eat with them." She said and turned to walk away, waving over her shoulder. "See you later."

Angel followed after her and left the four boys to eat together on the roof. They rushed down to the yard to meet the rest of the girls.

Ichigo felt a bit relieved at seeing the girls go. Hana finally seemed to be branching out a bit more and hanging out with other people. It wasn't that he disliked hanging out with her, but everyone could get a bit annoyed by someone from time to time if they're around them too often.

He pushed those thoughts down for later and returned to his conversation with Uryu.

Rocky was the first to notice Hana and Angel approaching the group, she smiled at them. "So you two decided to actually eat with us?" She teased. Usually, the two would eat alongside their brothers, so it was nice when they would go outside of their usual group and join this one.

Angel nodded and smiled quietly and Hana smiled as well.

"Yeah, Yuzu and I made a bunch of sugar cookies and it would be a shame to share them with the boys." She said playfully.

Kathy's eyes lit up at the mention of cookies. "You brought cookies?" She asked, hopefully, Hana wasn't messing with them and actually brought the cookies.

The rest of the group looked at Hana, just as hopeful as Kathy, and waited for her answer.

Hana's smile grew a bit and she pulled the tub of cookies out of her bag. "I sure did." She told them.

A few of the girls cheered and surrounded Hana, unable to wait for her to open the tub in order to hand out the cookies. Being the motherly person she is, Hana gently smacked their hands away and told them they had to sit down first.

The group listened and sat in a circle that was far from perfect. Each of them held out their hands waiting for a cookie.

Angel couldn't help but giggle at them.

Hana started passing out the cookies. They were each frosted, though not perfect by any means. Hana was no artist when it came to decorating, she could tell you which kinds of flowers were edible and perfect for use in decorating and baking, but she couldn't make perfectly beautiful designs using her hands.

Some of the cookies had been made with specific people in mind, so she made sure to hand those out to the right people. Angel got a bird-shaped cookie iced with white icing. Tatsuki was given a yellow-colored trophy with a sloppy #1 on it. Orihime was given a flower-shaped cookie with blue frosting on it, just like her hairpins. The last cookie that Hana had specially baked was rabbit-shaped and decorated with pink and black icing. The black icing was placed to give the rabbit a face just like one of Rukia's drawings.

Rukia looked up at her with almost sad eyes, but they were happy at the same time. "You gave me a rabbit." She said.

Hana smiled and nodded as she sat down. "Yeah, I was cutting out the cookies and found that cutter shape. It made me think of you." She told her.

Rukia looked at the cookie in her hands with a small smile, the gesture sure was nice and it felt nice to be thought about, especially if someone genuinely took notice of one of your interests when you thought they wouldn't be paying attention.

There were a few cheers in thanks of the cookies before everyone started to eat. Hana left the rest of the cookies in the tub out in the middle of the circle for anyone to get if they wanted more.

Quiet chatter was passed between duos for a few minutes before a girl with curly hair spoke up. "Hey, Rukia!" She called to get the soul reaper's attention, of course, this got everyone else's attention too, "Do you like Ichigo?" She asked.

The rest of the chatter stopped and Rukia spat out the drink in her mouth. "WHAT?" She cried.

Hana rushed and pulled out some tissues to hand to Rukia in order to wipe off the juice that was dripping from her chin.

"Well, we were just wondering what exactly is your relationship with Ichigo?" The same girl asked while pointing at Rukia.

Rukia wiped her mouth and chin clean with a quiet thank you to Hana before she answered. "Relationship? He's a friend..." She said almost confused.

Hana narrowed her eyes a little bit, her "scolding mom" look coming to her face. The girl didn't seem to notice or was immune to the look due to not often being around Hana.

Another girl with slightly longer hair with the bangs pinned to the side slid between the first and Rukia. "Mahana! How can you ask her so bluntly like that?!" She cried.

"What are you talking about? You guys were curious about it, so I asked!" She defended herself.

Hana sighed a bit and shook her head. "Gossip isn't polite at all." She spoke up.

The longer haired girl turned to her. "She's lying! I-I'm not curious at all!" She defensively stated.

"You would say that." A red-haired girl said. Though her hair seemed a little more pink than red.

Tatsuki, still munching away, turned to the red-head. "Michiru, I thought you hated Ichigo?" She asked.

This got Orihime's attention and the poor girl seemed shocked. "You do?" She asked almost sadly.

Michiru turned to Orihime and started waving her hand. "N-no!! It's not that I HATE him Orihime! It's just that his face is a bit scary looking..." She trailed off.

Angel found herself pouting a bit, though didn't say anything. She didn't think Ichigo was scary looking. Sure she might have thought that at some point before she actually knew him, but not now. Now she might dare say, not out loud of course, that she found him a bit handsome.

Hana shook her head a little. "I might have to agree with you, Michiru. Ichigo tends to scowl when he's thinking and he never shuts that brain of his down unless it's the most inconvenient time to do so." She said, joking a little bit.

The red-head went over and wrapped her arm around Orihime's shoulders. "I don't care about you guys and your interests! You guys have nothing to do with Rukia and Ichigo's private matters! The only ones who should be concerned are me, Orihime, Hana, and Angel!" She stated loudly. 

Hana rose an eyebrow and Angel stopped nibbling on her second cookie, she still didn't speak up though a small blush had risen to her cheeks at her previous thought.

Tatsuki scowled, "I understand why Orihime, Hana, and Angel should be concerned... But why you?" She asked.

The red-head smiled almost evilly. "Isn't it obvious?! If Rukia stakes claim on Ichigo then there's nothing in the way between Orihime and me!" She stated boldly and ran over to Rukia, grabbing the soul reaper's hands and holding them tightly. "So fight, Rukia!! I'll cheer for you!! Then Orihime will be...!" She trailed off.

Hana shook her head again. Poor Orihime was so oblivious to what the red-head felt for her, and she could have been more obvious about it. Hana just wished that she would calm down a little and stop yelling.

Mahana interrupted the excited cheering and leaned forward. "Well? So what is your relationship with him? Ever since you came, you've always been around Ichigo! What exactly are you guys to each other?!" She questioned.

Rukia was quiet for a second as if thinking. "Ichigo is... Just a friend!" She said and smiled.

Angel blinked and finished off her cookie, but still said nothing.

The rest of the girls didn't look like they believed Rukia and kept trying to question her until Hana spoke up in a slightly louder, more firm tone of voice. "That's enough, I think it's rude to be bugging her with questions like this when she's already answered you truthfully." She said.

The attention of the girls went to her and then there were a few shocked looks.

"Oh that's right," Michiru realized, "Hana is Ichigo's sister and she's around them all the time too."

"Angel too." Chizuru, the red-head, spoke.

Hana nodded a little. "That's right, just because someone hangs around someone else a lot doesn't mean that they're in a relationship you know." She said defensively.

Sometimes gossip and rumors about relationships annoyed her, especially if the people discussing it got too aggressive with it. People liked who they liked, and that was that to her. So long as it wasn't an adult and a child or someone just using someone else, then she was fine with it.

Orihime pouted and crossed her arms. "Jeez! How disappointing! If Rukia liked Ichigo too, then us girls would win two against one!" She said.

The others looked confused for a minute while Hana started to giggle, ignoring the fighting between Tatsuki and Chihiru until her giggle turned into a laugh. The girls stopped and turned to her again.

She tried to stop laughing but just succeeded in turning the laugh back into giggles. "Oh Hime, even if she doesn't like him more than a friend, we can all still gang up on him to get him to take us places or something." She said cheerfully.

Orihime grinned and nodded. "Yeah! We can get him to come shopping with us and then help us cook enough food for a whole week!" She cheered.

Angel smiled a bit and nodded.

Hana kept giggling, "Yup and you could get him to try so much of your cooking." She encouraged.

That made Orihime happier and she nodded once more.

"You know what, I'll have to come over and cook with you sometime." Hana offered to Orihime. The younger orange-haired girl agreed with her.

Though Hana rarely ate what Orihime offered her, there were rare occasions that she did and rare occasions that the seemingly odd combinations she came up with were actually rather tasty. People didn't tend to try them because they sounded so odd but Hana felt like it was important to keep encouraging Orihime to explore different ways of cooking.

Rukia looked at the group with a fond smile. She actually felt included and it was fun to spend time with people like this. Even if the conversations were meaningless, the girls made each other feel happy and loved. But her smile turned sad.

She would have to distance herself from all of the friends that she'd seemed to have made because it would only hurt her and them when the time came for her to leave. Companionship had become a troubling feeling to her because she would have to cut out everyone that she felt she came close to.

Lunch came to an end after all of the cookies that Hana had brought had been eaten. The cookie's fate was probably the same for the ones that Yuzu had taken to share with her friends.

The group of girls all headed to their classroom, splitting off into their normal groups before doing so. Hana and Angel were a bit back from the group and Rukia was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

Angel turned to Hana. "Today is a rest day, what are you planning to do?" She asked.

Hana sighed and thought. "Well, I really need to work in my garden. I've been kind of neglecting it and I feel bad about it. Then, I need to work on homework." She answered.

Angel nodded a little. "I know what you mean. It's harder to do homework and I already wasn't the best at it anyway." She agreed.

Hana smiled at her. "Then why don't you come over and we'll work on it together after gardening? That way, if we get stuck, we can get help from Ichigo and won't put off assignments until we forget about them." She offered.

Angel nodded happily in agreement with her and the two girls continued the school day along with the rest of their classmates.

After school, the two headed to the Kurosaki house. Angel had made sure Chad knew where she was going and that she was likely to end up staying the night if working on homework took too long.

Chad didn't seem to mind. Ichigo was a good guy and he knew that he would protect Angel from anything, and Hana was no worry either. She truly cared for Angel and helped teach her how to cook, clean, and more. He was happy to let his sister stay over there, though he felt a bit lonely by himself. He now had Yuuichi to keep him company, though the bird seemed to prefer Angel over him.

Ichigo walked a few paces behind the two girls, watching them talk but not listening in as they discussed their day. He had noticed that in the last week, they had become almost more inseparable than he and Hana had been before. It had started with the hollow killing contest and he honestly wasn't surprised with how close they'd gotten, due to the story that Hana had told him. When she told him about the fight that they went through, she also briefly mentioned that she would be doing training to make herself stronger.

That had worried Ichigo a bit at the time, he was still worrying over her possible heart problems after all. But, Hana very sternly told him that she was doing it and he wouldn't be able to stop her. She seemed fine since training, her heart didn't seem to be giving her any trouble, so he was a bit relieved. And so, he said nothing against her training again.

The trio arrived home and changed into casual clothes. Angel had several outfits that were at the residence, including a spare uniform, in case she spent the night on school nights. The outfits were mostly gifts from Hana that she wasn't allowed to say no to receiving.

Once changed, the girls set to work in the garden. They weeded, watered, pruned, and refilled the bird feeders. While doing this, they even found a new birdnest in the birdhouse Hana had recently added to the garden. When they finished it looked much more controlled, like it usually did.

The garden work was done so the girls headed in to work on homework in Hana's room while Ichigo worked on it at the dining room table. Occasionally the girls would come to him for help on their work and then thank him before rushing back to Hana's room. He didn't mind.

Angel and Hana continued to work on homework until they fell asleep, each with a textbook in their lap and their homework on a folder beside them.

Later at night, Ichigo finally grabbed the food leftover from the dinner that Yuzu had made. She'd made it without Hana again because she noticed how hard her oldest sister was working and didn't want to bother her. Ichigo dodged the orange-haired twin's questions with the usual answer about the food and went upstairs.

The first stop he made was Hana's room. He went to check if she and Angel needed any more help but found them both asleep after he nudged the door open. He set the plate of food on Hana's desk and closed up the textbooks, placing them next to their owners' bags. He then placed their homework in their folders and set them with the textbooks.

He smiled a bit to himself. After all that Hana had done to take care of him, their sisters, and even their friends; here he was doing something to take care of her. He picked up the plate of food and left the room, heading to his own.

Finally, he called out for Rukia to tell her that he had food for her. But he got no answer. She wasn't there like he had gotten used to her being. Ichigo was momentarily confused and looked around his room to see if he could find an answer.

But he didn't question it long and instead looked at the food he'd brought up, trying to figure out what to do with it. "Well... I'm not really hungry, but I guess I'll have to eat it." He mumbled to himself. He hadn't noticed the note on his desk

"Thank you for everything, Rukia Kuchiki." It read.


	31. Chasing After Rukia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title of this chapter suggests, they chase after Rukia.  
> Originally typed in October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains depictions of violence, fighting, and injuries. Please read carefully.

Hana was woken up by her brother in his soul reaper form as he shook her shoulder. She opened her eyes and blinked owlishly at him. 

"Ichigo, what's going on?" She asked. 

He was very serious. His hand gripped her shoulder a bit tighter once he realized she was awake. 

"Rukia's in trouble, we have to go help her." He said. 

Hana was almost instantly awake and using her mod soul, affectionately named Tulip, to exit her body. Until a small voice spoke up, neither noticed that Angel had woken up.

"Rukia needs help?" She asked quietly. 

The siblings looked at her for a minute and then at each other. Each trying to figure out whether or not they should tell her what was really going on or not. 

Hana sighed a little bit and nodded in response to her. "Yes, we're going to go help her." She answered honestly. 

Angel quickly got up, ready to help as well. 

Ichigo and Hana tried to talk her out of it. They tried to convince her to stay there and if they didn't come back then she could go get help. But Angel wasn't having any of that and insisted on following. 

Ichigo was the one to sigh this time and tried to convince Hana to stay back too. It would help him feel better if they were out of the way of possible danger but at the same time able to get help.

Hana and Angel refused but hesitantly agreed to stay out of the fight unless it was absolutely needed, and then at least one of them was to run to Uruhara for help. 

They thought of themselves as the secret weapons to help Ichigo. Thinking that way helped them calm down in a way as they searched Karakura town for Rukia. They rushed as they did so, hoping to find the soul reaper girl before it was too late. 

Eventually, Ichigo stopped them in the middle of the street and looked at the two. "Hide." He ordered them. 

Hana understood why she could feel the spiritual pressure that came from up ahead. It certainly wasn't a hollows spiritual pressure. It wasn't anywhere near feeling like Uryu's spiritual pressure so they weren't Quincy's. They had to be soul reapers. Because of this, Hana quickly took Angel's wrist and hid in a nearby patch of trees. Once hidden she still held Angel's wrist, just in case the younger girl got too nervous.

The two peeked out from behind the tree and spotted a body in white on the ground. The body was being stood over by two people dressed in black. One had bright red hair tied up in a spiky ponytail. The other had black hair held back with odd-looking clips. 

The red-head raised his sword to strike the body on the ground, then suddenly fell to his knees unable to move. 

Hana gasped a bit and helped Angel stay standing due to the massive amount of spiritual pressure her brother was letting out. 

Angel stumbled a bit and held onto the tree. She was surprised by the pure power she felt and wasn't sure what to think of it. 

Hana gave her a reassuring smile before looking back at the soul reapers. From here she couldn't hear what they were saying and she wasn't trying to figure it out. She was just trying to make sure that she knew exactly when Ichigo needed her help.

Ichigo was angry, there was no denying that. His sword had cracked and broken the ground. He lifted it and rested the huge blade on his shoulder, only slouching for a minute before standing straight like the metal weighed nothing. 

Another glance at the group caused Hana to notice Rukia standing beside the wall that the redhead was perched on.

Hana didn't know what to think of the redhead. He didn't seem to be much older than her or her brother. She got less time to think when the boy attacked Ichigo. Her eyes focused on them and didn't look away. 

Angel gripped Hana's hand as they watched. She was nervous and beginning to regret coming, though she would have felt horrible if she didn't. She hardly remembered the fight that had happened in her first known hollow encounter. She'd seen Ichigo fight before, but not like this. 

The redhead almost immediately had the upper hand on Ichigo and Hana was tempted then to jump in, but she restrained herself. The redhead was faster than Ichigo and he had yet to have to deal with something like that. The only known instance to Hana was the incident with Grand Fisher. 

Hana continued to watch her brother fight. His posture began to shift and Hana recognized it from watching him fight before. He was hoping to use brawn against the other's speed. 

The redhead moved and then Ichigo fell to his knees with an injury to his shoulder. 

Hana flinched and gestured for Angel to stay there and wait, then she moved to a closer tree.

Angel didn't move, she was frozen watching the fight.

Hana was close enough that she could now hear whatever was said as long as it was a normal tone. She wasn't liking what she heard from the redhead.

"You die, and Rukia gets her powers back." The redhead started, "And Rukia will be executed at the soul society."

Both siblings looked at their soul reaper friend who had hunched in on herself. 

Angel gasped and went running to them, but she couldn't get closer. It was as if there was a barrier. She beat her hands against it causing a small, visible ripple to run through it. But the barrier just wouldn't give, she didn't know what else to do. She could run to get help, but that would mean leaving Ichigo and Hana there to deal with this on their own. She was frustrated and tried to think as fast as she could. 

The redhead continued to speak, and he let his guard down as he did. Hana saw that and Ichigo did as well. 

Ichigo took this chance and swung his sword upwards, managing to cut the redhead's chin. 

Hana stopped herself from cheering and grinned. She felt proud of her little brother. 

"Oops, sorry! You were talking so happily. There was a pause and my hand just slipped. Did I interrupt your speech?" Ichigo teased the redhead. 

Hana was smiling and trying not to giggle at her brother when a hand shot out and covered her mouth. She let out a squeak through her nose and tried to figure out what was going on. Her body was pulled out from behind the tree and that's when Hana noticed the other soul reaper. The black-haired one was the one who had a grip on her. His scarf barely fell into her vision and looking down to the side she could see the hilt of his blade. Her body tensed and she didn't fight against his hold. 

She'd forgotten about him.

He pulled her closer to the other two and still she didn't struggle. There was no doubt in her mind that he was stronger than her. She would have no chance if she actually tried to fight against him and she wasn't going to try and bring attention to herself. 

Angel saw this and made her decision, she took off in the direction of Urahara's shop. Hopefully, she could make it there before anything too bad happened to her friends. 

The black-haired man looked down at Hana with emotionless eyes. He thought her both smart and dumb in this situation. She knew not to fight against him, yet she'd gotten so close and thought that she wouldn't be noticed. He could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to work out how to handle the situation. 

"Renji, you were too careless." The man finally spoke. "You didn't even notice this one." He pointed Hana out. There was a slight tone of disappointment to the otherwise seemingly emotionless voice. 

The redhead, now known as Renji, turned to face them with shock apparent on his face. "Captain Kuchiki! What are you talking about? This guy is nothing to a guy like me!" He spat, ignoring the fact that Hana was there. 

Hana blinked and tried to look at the man who had a hold on her. He was Captian Kuchiki, he had the same last name as Rukia so did that mean that they were related somehow?

Ichigo didn't seem to notice the name, instead, he noticed Hana. "She wasn't doing anything! Don't pull her into this!!" He spat. 

Captain Kuchiki didn't so much as narrow his eyes. "She wasn't doing anything? She was waiting in the shadows in an attempt to ambush us." He said matter of factly.

Hana clenched her jaw. She'd gotten better with training, but not nearly good enough to go under this Captian's radar. Was she going to be used against her brother? 

The Captain interrupted all trains of thought. "That kid says he's Ichigo Kurosaki... I knew he looked familiar. Last week, using our undercover forces, we were able to see the image. We sent a menos grande to the void due to the scare _he_ gave it." He informed. 

Reji started laughing and Hana didn't pay attention to what he said. She was too busy trying to figure out how to get away from the soul reaper holding her hostage. 

There was one thing that did catch her attention though. 

"What's the name of your zanpakuto?!" Renji demanded of Ichigo. 

Name huh, did he mean like Belladonna?

Renji attacked Ichigo again, calling out what she supposed was the name of his zanpakutou.

Hana squirmed and reached for her zanpakutou. The Kuchiki man had only restrained one of her wrists and his grip had slackened because she wasn't fighting him. 

The man's guard hadn't dropped though, he'd just assumed the girl was smart enough to not fight him. He noticed her reaching for her sword and moved the hand that was covering her mouth to grab her free hand. 

She didn't say anything but kept squirming. She didn't manage to get free before Ichigo received an injury to his other shoulder from Renji's transformed blade. This caused her to pause for a minute before fighting a bit harder. 

"Let go of me!" She finally demanded. 

Captain Kuchiki didn't listen to her so Hana did the only thing she could think of. She went entirely limp. All of her weight was now being held up by his grip on her wrists.

He seemed momentarily shocked and she managed to get away from him after a moment. 

Hana rushed towards Ichigo as the next attack came for him. She stood between Renji and her brother with her arms around Ichigo. The pain she felt as the blade cut through the skin on her back was unlike a pain she'd felt before. It wasn't the worst that she'd felt though. Only a whimper escaped her as blood began to ooze from the wound. 

Rukia watched the fight from the sidelines. Her eyes wide as she watched Hana hold her younger brother tightly as Ichigo didn't move much. She watched Renji raise his sword again and realized that he was going for the kill. 

Hana moved as quickly as she could and unsheathed Belladonna. She was ready to do anything she could if she could do anything.

Rukia knew that she was no match for the two soul reapers after seeing what happened to Ichigo. The younger boy had more training than his sister and still could hardly do anything to either Renji or his captain. 

The soul reaper girl rushed forward and stopped Renji's blade.

Hana was confused but didn't move. 

"Run Ichigo! Hana! You two need to run away!" Rukia shouted. 

Hana gripped Belladonna tighter and shook her head. She wasn't going to just run. She was ready to call out her zanpakutou's name when she heard metal drag over concrete. 

Ichigo had stood behind her, gripping his sword tightly as well.

Renji looked at the two. "You're still moving around? Well, that's good. Giving the last blow to someone that's almost dead or won't fight is boring." He grinned. "One more time then let's go! Enjoy your final moment's living!" He snarled. 

Neither Hana nor Ichigo moved from the spots they stood in. 

"Ichigo, Hana!! If you can stand then run! You have to run!" Rukia cried out. She didn't want to see her friends killed. 

Ichigo and Hana still didn't move. 

Hana had an idea of what may help Ichigo, but she wasn't sure if it would work. 

_Belladonna, would one of your positive abilities affect Ichigo?_ She questioned the sword spirit. 

_Find out, even if it doesn't work for him it'll work for you and you can use that to help him._ Belladonna answered. 

Hana and Ichigo both shifted at the same time. 

Ichigo released a blast of spiritual pressure and Hana scratched the concrete shallowly.

"Give us strength, grow protea!" Hana ordered. 

Several of the first flowers she'd ever grown with her ability sprung to life from the scratch she'd created. The weight seemed to fall off her shoulders and it seemed easier to stand now. 

She couldn't tell if it had affected Ichigo, but it worked on her. 

Renji was busy trying to block Ichigo's spiritual pressure but his captain hadn't moved. He watched the three like a hawk. 

Ichigo moved and attacked Renji, managing to slice into the soul reaper's shoulder and surprise him. Before Renji could retaliate, Ichigo attacked again.

Hana planted her eyes on the captain. He was an unpredictable variable here. He hadn't done much other than dragging her out of hiding. She supposed that was because he was strong enough to end them both in a second if he wanted to. That or he was trying to figure out their weak points before attacking them directly. 

If Hana jumped into action with Ichigo, what was stopping the captain from jumping in?

Their eyes met for a minute before Hana flicked hers over to Ichigo's fight. When she looked back at the captain he seemed to be looking over her sword and the flowers she'd grown using it. 

No doubt that he wouldn't be impressed by that. It wasn't a power that could hurt him and as far as he knew, it was her strongest ability. 

Hana didn't look away again. He had shown off his speed earlier when he found her. If she looked away again then he could move and she wouldn't know. 

No matter what she heard, no matter how wild she was feeling Ichigo's spiritual pressure go, she didn't look away from the captain. 

His eyes slid over to the fight and she saw a mere muscle twitch before he was gone. 

Hana ran for Ichigo, yelling out a warning as soon as she could produce sound but she did so too late. Ichigo's blade was snapped and the large, broken piece was held in the captain's hand.

Still, Hana kept running to her brother. The wounds she'd received on her back starting to sting again, but she ignored it and braced herself to attack. She felt power surge through her along with anger. 

"Bella-!" She cut off with a gasp as Renji stopped her with his blade at her wrist. The sharp edge bit into her skin a bit causing blood to well up and dribble down her arm. 

"Do it, and you'll regret it." He threatened.

Hana teared up in frustration and fear. She couldn't do anything even with enhanced strength! She couldn't even summon up Belladonna's true powers. She couldn't help her brother and she couldn't save Rukia. The strength she had gained from the flowers faded as they wilted and she fell to her knees. 

Renji scoffed at her. It was pathetic really, at least the Ichigo kid was a slight challenge. This girl was nothing to him, and it seemed that she'd known it at first. So why did she keep trying to fight?

Hana mustered as much pure hate and rage into a watery-eyed glare that she could.

Renji only saw a teary-eyed and pathetic little girl who'd gotten in over her head. 

Hana didn't care about the look he gave her, she grits her teeth together and forced herself to speak. "Leave my brother the hell alone!" She spat. 

Rukia bit her lip to hold back tears. She felt guilty and it broke her heart to see this. To see Ichigo who always fought so hard now at his limit. To see the cheerful, motherly girl she'd come to know become so broken. 

Her eyes widened again as her older brother pierced Ichigo with his blade and let him fall to the ground.

Hana froze, unsure what to do now. 

Captain Kuchiki's hand was still on his hilt and Rukia realized she needed to do something. "Brother!!" She called out. 

Both soul reapers looked at her, surprised by the outburst directed at the captain this time. 

In this lapse, Hana dropped her sword to the ground and rushed to her little brother again. 

She didn't move him, she was too scared to. She was too scared to check if he was breathing. One hand rested on the back of his shoulder and the other rested on his head. Tears that had stayed in her eyes now flowed freely down her cheeks.

Renji looked at the two orange-haired soul reaper wannabe's and then to the sword the girl had dropped on the ground. He was still processing information about Rukia's outburst but now he had this to process too. Between the personality shift of the Ichigo kid to the fact that the girl had just dropped her weapon when there were enemies around. 

Had she done that unconsciously because of the shock of seeing her brother killed or nearly dead? Did she do it on purpose to show that she was surrendering? Or perhaps she was just more concerned in checking on the other kid than in protecting either of them. He wasn't sure.

Rukia went running forward but Renji snapped out of his thoughts. He caught her and slammed her back into a pole in order to stop her. 

Hana looked over her shoulder at them but didn't move. She was completely torn on what to do. Rukia was her friend and she had the urge to run over and free her. But, the memories of Ichigo when she was young surfaced. 

He stayed by her side when she was confined to bed. He played with her when no one else would. If he got other people to play, he would make sure she never got hurt. He was there for her when she was positive that she was going to die. 

She found that she couldn't bring herself to leave him in this state. He needed someone to stay by his side too, even if that person was as weak and useless as Hana. 

Words between the soul reapers were blocked out but Hana heard one clearly and that one sent an icy chill down her spine. 

_Dead._

More tears flowed from her eyes and she started to sob. The fact that the captain was standing right beside her was ignored. Hana leaned her head down, ignoring the tugging that it caused on the edges of her wound, and put her head on her little brother's.

"Ichigo... Wake up... Don't leave me... Not after everything... You stayed with me when I was sick... When I thought I was going to die you made sure to tell me I was going to live... You protected me when it was my job as the older one to protect you... And I failed so horribly..." She sobbed. 

There was nothing in her mind but her and Ichigo right now. She didn't think she was strong enough to lose her brother like this. Other than their father, she was sure that Ichigo was really the foundation that held their family together. 

A hand brushed against Hana's knee and she felt her breath catch. She lifted her head and looked hopefully down at her little brother. 

He turned his head up a bit and met her eyes with a small smile on his face before his attention turned to the captain who was standing beside them. He mouthed "move" to Hana and waited a minute for her to move out of the way before gripping the captain's ankle. 

"What do you mean, "already dead"? And resembling somebody..." Ichigo trailed off. He had obviously been paying attention to the conversation despite Hana's crying. 

Hana realized that this could begin the fight again and rushed to grab her sword, she never should have dropped it. 

Her back was turned and a smile came to her face when she got the sword in her hand again, but that smile went away when she turned around. 

"Know your place, Rookie!!!" Rukia's voice was ice-cold as she snapped at Ichigo.

Hana knew something was off, but when she stepped forward she got a glare that made her stop. "Rukia..." She mumbled. 

Rukia turned her back and went to leave with the two soul reapers but stopped and looked back at the Kurosaki siblings with tears in her eyes. "If you two try to follow me, I'll never forgive you!"

The siblings were silent so Rukia continued on. 

"You're going to die anyway, conserve your energy and try to linger on for a moment longer." She pleaded if Ichigo then looked at Hana. "Hana... Your heart is too weak to be away from your body and injured like this... You'll die too..." She told her.

The captain and Reji seemed to accept this and the captain released the grip on his blade which he was ready to draw again against the two. They left through an odd gate with Rukia.

Hana fell to her knees, scraping them up a bit. She was confused about everything.

Ichigo's cry got her attention and she dragged herself over to him. She didn't care about skinning her knees even more than they already were. 

"Ichigo, Ichigo it's okay..." Hana tried to assure him and carefully rolled him over onto his back. "We'll figure this out." She tried to encourage. Her voice was shaky and she couldn't hold her fake smile.

Ichigo lost consciousness before Hana who was trying to locate Angel while supporting her brother. When she couldn't find the younger girl, she feared that something bad had happened. Then her groggy mind told her that there was a possibility she went for help. She didn't get to dwell on it for long before her eyes were impossible to open again. The rain didn't even register on her skin as she followed her brother into unconsciousness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so bad at writing fights, but rereading this, it's better than I remembered it being.   
> I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far!


	32. Pictures of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel has another dream/memory.  
> Originally typed in October 2018

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains mentions of blood and depressing thoughts

Angel nervously watched over her two unconscious friends in one of the backrooms of Urahara's shop. She'd returned to the battlefield with the blonde man, hoping he would know how to get past the barrier, only to find that it was gone. The two pushed on and found Ichigo and Hana on the ground in a pool of blood. They'd brought the two here to be healed. 

Urahara assured Angel that the two siblings were going to be perfectly fine and would be healed completely under his care, but Angel refused to leave their sides.

She slept on a cot between the two that night. It was hard for her to fall asleep though. She kept looking between Ichigo and Hana. For hours she worried about them but eventually fell asleep and was pulled into a memory like dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This had to be the oldest Angel had ever seen herself in her dreams, not much younger than she was at the moment. She was dressed similarly to Ichigo when he was in his soul reaper form, except she seemed to be wearing a skirt. 

She was looking at her hands and realized what she was feeling as she did. She felt horrible. She felt sad, guilty, and devastated. But why?  
  
Beside her sat a boy, also in a soul reaper uniform. She could recognize that he was the same boy she always saw in her dreams but was still unable to see his face. She still couldn't see his hair color either. 

He shifted a bit and looked nervously at Angel. He tried hiding it, but he was devastated at the news she had given him that morning. 

She was going away for a while. 

He was very upset about it. First, his mother died, then he was forced to kill his hollowfied brother, and now Angel was leaving him. 

She had tried assuring him that it was only for a little while, though that did nothing to lift his spirits. He'd become distrustful of people he cared about leaving him for any amount of time, even if they promised to return soon. 

His mother had promised that she would be home after a short mission with a captain. Of course, he had thought she would be perfectly fine since she was with a captain. 

But he was wrong, and she'd died. 

His brother had left to patrol in the world of the living. They had lost contact with him for a few weeks and then he'd suddenly appeared in the soul society in a partially hollow form. 

Naturally, the boy had developed a fear of people he cared about leaving him. 

Because of that fear, he was tempted to tell Angel something important. Something that he'd been hiding from her almost all of their lives. Though for a good chunk of it, he had no idea what exactly it was that he wanted to tell her. It was probably a good idea to tell her the secret, seeing as he believed he might never see her again. 

But it was so hard to make himself say it. 

Angel was trying to be cheerful for him but was failing. For the majority of their lives, these two had been together. They'd rarely actually been a fair distance from each other. When they had, they'd managed to keep in contact with each other. They were almost inseparable, if he wasn't following her like a worried and lost puppy then he was pulling her along with him. Angel would stay over with him and his family often and even though he had graduated before her, he continued to help her with her academy work. 

This was the last day that the two would have together for a while, and they were spending it together. They reminisced on things, on the past. 

A lot of the talk was about remembering his mother and his brother. It made them happy to remember, but sad that the two were gone. 

But before long, both went silent. The sun was setting and they were running out of time before Angel would have to leave. He decided to try once again to tell her what was on his mind. 

"Angel... I want to tell you something." The boy spoke up. 

Angel looked at him expectantly and waited for him to continue. 

He bit his lip, his cheeks turning a bit red from the embarrassment that he felt. He was having a hard time actually saying what he wanted to. He'd never had to admit something like this. 

Angel put her hand on his arm. "It's okay if it's hard to say then you can wait until I come back." She told him, her voice as cheerful as she could make it. 

He shook his head. "No, I have to tell you now. Angel I-" He was cut off by another voice, one that he knew very well.

"Angel, it's time to go." Kuski's voice cut through both of them. Their stomachs dropped at his words and they both looked at him, unknowingly giving him some of the most pathetic looks he'd ever seen. 

He was looking at them almost sadly.

The boy glared at him after a minute. He was finally about to tell Angel and Kuski had to ruin it. 

Angel smiled sadly and kissed the boy's cheek. "I'll see you soon. You can tell me what you wanted to once we see each other again." She told him and gave him a hug before she stood and made her way to her brother. 

The boy lifted his hand a bit as if to reach out for her. To grab onto her hand and never let her go, so that Kuski couldn't take her away. So that there wasn't a chance that he would lose her forever. 

Kuski gave the boy an almost apologetic look before walking away with his younger sister. 

Angel had begun to cry once out of sight of her best friend. But she remembered that this wouldn't be the last time that they saw each other and her tears stopped. She wiped them away and promised herself that she would be strong when she returned. She would make him smile like he used to. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel woke up to find brown eyes looking at her. Hana was awake. She hugged the older girl tightly and tears fell from her eyes. The tears were caused by both the leftover emotions from the dream and the relief of knowing that her friend was okay. 

Hana hugged back and ignored the ache from her not fully healed wounds as she did. She was relieved that Angel seemed to have gotten away without getting involved in the fight. It made her curious about what exactly had happened to her. 

But she didn't ask yet. She just let Angel cry for a while, as her friend cried she hummed quietly and gently rubbed her back. By the time Angel stopped crying, she had fallen asleep again and Hana worried a bit more about her. 

Was it her and Ichigo's fault that Angel cried like this?

Angel hadn't been the only one who had been woken up by a dream. 

A boy was as well. Unbeknownst to him, he'd had the exact same dream as her. No, it wasn't a dream, it was a memory. 

He sat up with emotions clouding his still tired mind. Remorse, guilt, sadness, and rage flooded him as he remembered the memory. 

That had been the last day he'd ever seen Angel. Yet again, he had lost someone when they said that they would return. He never got to tell her what he had planned to the day she disappeared. 

When Kuski had returned from taking Angel wherever he had, the boy avoided him for a few days. After that, he would stop in and ask if he had heard anything from her. The answer he always got was a no.

Kuski disappeared shortly after that and once he did the accusations about him were released to the public. 

It was said that Kuro's hollowfication was Kuski's doing. He was accused of the murder of Angel since no one had heard from her and no one could find her. And finally, he was accused of murdering Akari. 

The boy had felt pure rage when he found out. Kuski had been around his whole life. Kuski had been the one to help take care of them, to make his mother smile when he could not. He was just normal in the boy's life until then. If Kuski truly did this then he'd been planning it for a very long time. He could have put it into action at any point in the boy's past.

The boy cleared those thoughts from his head and began to search for a box that he'd hidden in his room. The box was filled with items from his past.

Origami cranes that he, Angel, his mother, and the older girl had made together just before she went back to work. 

The notes that his mother used to leave for him before she left on missions, letters where she told him that she loved him.

Small gifts from Angel sat in the box too.

What he was looking for were photos. There weren't many, mainly because his mother didn't own a camera. The camera had been owned by Angel's family and either they had taken the pictures, or the camera had been set on timer mode in order to. 

He found a picture that had been taken of him and Angel asleep and cuddled into his mother's chest as infants. Her arms wrapped around them securely while they fisted the fabric of her yukata in their tiny hands. She was asleep as well with a small smile on her face. 

The next picture was of him and his mother. It was taken the day she went back to work and given to him to help him feel better. It was slightly crinkled because he would carry it around with him whenever she was gone. 

And finally, he found the photo he was looking for. It was a photo taken right before his world had begun to fall apart. It was the only picture of all of them, though it had been copied and each of the children and Kuski had received one. 

Kuski and Akari stood side by side, Kuro and the oldest girl stood on either side of them. Angel and the boy stood in front since they were the shortest. 

The boy would have scratched out Kuski's face a long time ago, but he would have felt guilty about it. As much as he hated to admit it, that picture wouldn't be complete without the golden-eyed man. The man that did so much for them, but then destroyed it all. 

He sighed as he looked at the photo. Now that there was potential evidence that his mother was alive, he wondered about Angel. If his mother was alive, was Angel alive too?

He didn't want to get his hope up though. There was also a chance that his mother's spiritual pressure had been faked somehow. Kuski had never been caught, maybe it had something to do with that. 

He shook his head to clear it and pushed the long bits of hair out of his face. He then placed the photo beside his bed and laid back down, not yet closing his eyes. The jewels lingered on the images of Kuro, his mother, and Angel before they finally closed. 

He fell back asleep, hoping it would be dreamless. But it wasn't, he dreamt of happy memories. He dreamt of the time he spent with his family and all the smiles he used to see. 

He often wished to go back to when he was truly happy. Back to when he had his mother, his brother, and Angel. Back to when his life was more simple.

But, it was impossible to go back. All he had were memories and pictures of the past. 


	33. Growing Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana and Ichigo have to come to terms with Rukia being gone. Hana figures out more about Belladonna and continues to try and figure out how to get stronger.  
> Originally typed in January 2019

Going back to school had been a shock for Hana. Urahara had given her and Ichigo a special medicine that had both of them nearly completely healed, but that wasn't the problem.

The problem was that no one remembered Rukia, at all. It was almost like they were the only ones who knew that she existed.

The Kurosaki siblings already had a plan in place. They were training to become stronger and go after Rukia, refusing to accept that she was gone.

Hana felt an odd emptiness at the fact that Rukia was gone. It was depressing that she could be so easily forgotten and she didn't feel like it was right.

The soul reaper girl had been a constant in the sibling's life since the night that the hollow had attacked their family. It felt wrong for them to pretend that she had never existed.

Angel had noticed the same thing as them, though had only mentioned it to Hana. She followed her friend's advice and said nothing about it, even pretended nothing was missing. But she knew better.

Today was the last day of class before summer break when the group would really amp up training. They were all seemingly drowning in their own thoughts.

Hana was attempting to meal plan, just to take her mind off of the rescue plan for a while, but was failing. The sheet of paper was still blank and she couldn't think of a single thing to put down. Instead, she had begun absentmindedly doodling flowers on the paper.

When the bell rang to dismiss the class, Angel and Hana immediately left with only a quick goodbye to their friends who they promised to see later. They didn't even wait for Ichigo. The two girls had been spending more time apart from their brothers and more time together as they trained.

Angel had been worried about Hana at first. But with the assurance of Uruhara, she had relaxed a bit. Of course she still worried, she couldn't help that, but she accepted that Hana seemed fine and wouldn't stop her training.

Instead of walking to the shop, the girls treated it like a warmup and jogged. It warmed up their legs but they would still have to stretch once they arrived. It helped assure that they were ready to use their muscles.

For now, it was Tessai who oversaw the girls' training. He helped Hana with her swordsmanship and with attempting to bring out Belladonna's true abilities. This included entering her inner world in order to bond with the spirit of her sword.

He had started that with her once she brought up the fact that Belladonna had spoken to her. She had quickly been able to enter her inner world after only a few hours.

Hana adored her inner world.

It was like a giant garden. Different kinds of flowers were budding and blooming. Very few were actually blooming and of the ones blooming a majority were immediately identified as deadly nightshade.

Colors peeked from the buds of the many close to blooming flowers, giving the mostly green landscape a bit more color.

And the world was nearly silent. The only sounds were the wind and the rustling of the leaves as the wind blew through them.

Hana still hadn't managed to find the personification of her sword, and that bothered her.

"Are you going to work on sword work or go into that inner world again?" Angel asked her friend.

Hana stretched her arms over her head. "I really feel like I should work on my swordsmanship, but something is telling me to go back to that world." She answered after a minute.

Angel nodded and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She was training just as much as Hana was and was discovering more about the powers that had presented during the hollow fight.

She could flash bright lights but at the same time reach out with shadows. Sometimes the shadows would act independently of her will. It was as if they had a mind of their own.

The shadows would form into completely solid forms. A shield that could block attacks or a form of weapon that engulfed her arms and enhanced strength. It seemed as if she had two contradicting powers, but they worked well together.

But, it was odd, the shadows seemed to know more about Angel's light power than Angel. If she used the light wrong, then the shadows blocked it.

While Hana mentioned hearing a voice, Angel never did. She didn't have a sword either, though she somewhat wished she had one.

While Hana worked with her sword, Angel would work on her control and her hand to hand combat.

Hana sat down on a flat rock and looked up at the realistic appearing sky before she closed her eyes and began to meditate. Her hands rested on the blade of Belladonna which was unsheathed in her lap.

It only took her a moment to enter her world of flowers.

Something was different here today. The budding flowers seemed closer to blooming.

Hana followed the only little path there was that wasn't covered with flowers to a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a large bunch of deadly nightshade. It was the largest group of blooms that Hana had seen since entering her inner world.

She'd never noticed this area before.

She looked around for a minute before she decided to call out. "Belladonna, are you here?" She called.

A quiet "shh" rang through the air.

Hana looked down and noticed a woman sitting at the base of the flowering bunch. Half of her face was covered by a glittery veil, a matching headpiece flowed down her back.

Glittering gold charms and pearls adorned her neck, upper arms, head, and skirt.

Her hair was a bright, almost neon looking violet and the skirt she wore was shaped like the petals of the deadly nightshade.

Hana stepped closer as she examined the woman. "Belladonna?" She questioned.

The woman opened her violet eyes to meet Hana's and gave a slight nod.

After the confirmation of who the woman was, Hana sat on her knees in front of Belladonna.

Belladonna stared at her, waiting for the master of this world to speak up.

It took a few minutes before Hana managed to figure out what to say. "Can you help me get stronger?" She asked.

The woman was silent for a minute before speaking in a voice that was so quiet you wouldn't hear it if you weren't listening. It was a voice that Hana had heard before.

"Why do you want to get stronger?" She asked.

Hana met the sword spirit's eyes. "I want to get stronger to save my friend. She's in trouble because she saved my family." She answered.

Belladonna stared at her still. She didn't speak and she didn't show any emotion. She was analyzing Hana.

It began to make Hana a little nervous. She couldn't tell whether or not she had given the answer that the spirit wanted.

A breeze blew through the petals and leaves of the deadly nightshade plant behind Belladonna. This revealed several buds that didn't look anywhere close to blooming.

"That is admirable," Belladonna spoke. Her quiet voice demanded attention. "But you cannot only get stronger for others without getting stronger for yourself."

Hana's hands clenched in her lap. Did that mean that Belladonna wouldn't help her?

Belladonna moved her hand and gestured at the endless field of sprouting and budding flowers around the two.

The glove made of golden charms on her hand should have chimed as she moved, but they made no noise.

"What do you notice about these flowers?" She asked.

Hana looked around. There were still very few flowers that had actually bloomed. That was the most noticeable thing to her.

"A majority of them haven't bloomed." She replied to Belladonna's question.

Belladonna gave another slight nod of her head. "Your inner world represents your soul. Emotional turmoil can affect it. If you are torn about something then it affects your inner world. This world is lovely, but would be more so if you could manage to make the flowers bloom." She said.

"So you want me to make the flowers bloom?" Hana asked.

Belladonna nodded once more.

"What can I do to make them bloom?" Hana questioned.

"I cannot answer that for you." Was the sword spirit's reply.

Hana fought back her annoyance and anger at the reply. "Alright but, for now, I just need to save my friend. Can you please help me with that? I'm not strong enough to help my friends with this but I need to be." She tried to convince the woman across from her.

Belladonna stood, none of the charms making a noise as she did.

"Grow your flowers, and I don't mean your garden. The more that you use a plant in your attacks, the more you will unlock, and the stronger you'll be." She said and poked Hana's forehead.

The action sent the girl back to the outside world. Her eyes opened to see the underground training facility that existed beneath Urahara's shop.

No longer did she see the flower-filled field. Instead, she was surrounded by a barren landscape where she could also see Angel training with her powers.

Hana looked down at the blade form of Belladonna. "Grow my flowers, huh?" She mumbled to herself.

She would have to make sure that the others were far enough away that her flowers wouldn't affect them as she trained.

She needed to listen to Belladonna's advice and grow her flowers.


	34. Ichigo Begins Training!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo joins Hana and Angel in training. He will become stronger!  
> Originally typed in September 2019

Angel's training session ended once she couldn't move anymore. She took a seat on the ground in order to rest. Doing this she noticed that Hana was far off from her, the only indication of what the older girl was doing came from the flowery smell that would waft over to her from time to time. So Hana was training with those floral powers of hers.

Angel laid back on the ground and closed her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. She was having an easier time with the physical activities now than when she first started, so regaining her breath was a bit easier and took less time than it had before.

Through training, she had discovered that her reflexes were much more developed than she ever would have thought before. She could move faster than expected as well and was stronger. And as she trained, the dreams began to change as well. Since she had started training her dreams now consisted of sparring matches and new people appeared in them. She sparred with them in the dreams, sometimes playfully and sometimes seriously.

Each time she had one of the dreams now it seemed to unlock some new technique that she had used in them. This would shock Tessai as she tried them out during training. It was almost like she already knew how to fight, but that knowledge was locked away inside her mind with her current training bringing those memories closer to the surface.

Her stutter had slowly started to fade and spending time away from her brother was a bit easier. Granted, she had been in the same space as Hana this entire time. The only time her stutter really bothered her anymore was when something went wrong or she was embarrassed.

"What is this place?!" A shout cut through the air. It caught both Hana and Angel's attention.

Angel's eyes shot open and she sat up to look for the source of the voice.

Hana froze and turned in the direction the voice had come from. The flowers that she had been growing from the point where she'd impaled her blade into the ground wilted before disappearing entirely.

The voice was Urahara, but he'd never called out like that before. Beside him stood Ichigo, who didn't look amused with the man's antics.

Hana sheathed Belladonna and went to help Angel up. She had mentioned her training to Ichigo before, but never to what extent she went to during it. She worried about how he would react to it but had her argument loaded up. She wasn't working her real heart, she had no residual heart problems in her soul form and so it didn't impede her training or physical activities. In fact, her heart seemed to be doing better in her living body than before her training.

The two girls approached the others quietly and Urahara smiled.

"I even made sure that you wouldn't be alone!" He chirped at Ichigo and brought attention to Hana and Angel.

Ichigo was at a loss for a moment once he saw them. He had to take a minute to put together a sentence. "What are you two doing here?!" He snapped.

Angel looked away while Hana sighed, annoyed. "I did tell you I was training..." The older girl muttered.

Urahara clapped Ichigo on the shoulder. "Well, of course, they're here training!" He cheered.

"What kind of training?" Ichigo questioned, skeptical. He had figured Hana had just been doing training to improve her heart, not hanging out with Hat and Clogs in an underground room.

Hana rolled her eyes. "What kind of training does it look like I've been doing?" She asked rhetorically.

Ichigo went to snap back at her but Uruhara interrupted him. "Now, don't get mad. This is actually a great asset to your plan." The man cooed.

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're probably right." He grumbled.

Angel looked up at Ichigo for a second before speaking up. "What plan?" She questioned.

The teen boy sighed and shook his head a bit, having a small internal battle about whether or not to tell Angel before deciding that if he didn't, Uruhara probably would. "This guy is going to get me into the Soul Society to save Rukia." He answered while jabbing a thumb in the blond man's direction.

Hana crossed her arms, a stern look falling over her features. "Now you know I'm not letting you go without me, right?" She asked.

Angel quickly nodded in agreement. "I'm coming too!" She cheered.

Ichigo groaned. "No, you're not! I feel bad enough having Hana who will track me down no matter what I do, I'm not dragging you into it too Angel." He snapped.

Hana huffed. "Enough, you can't do it alone and we both want to save Rukia, so we're helping." She chided, that motherly tone kicking into her voice as she did.

The two siblings had a staredown until Ichigo backed down and started to stretch. "Whatever, let's just hurry up and get started. You said we didn't have time but you sat there and let me bicker with Flower Girl." He directed at Urahara.

Hana found herself smiling because Ichigo had backed down. She left the group to go off on her own again, once again practicing on growing her flowers. Working on trying to get them to stay in good condition for longer periods of time. And, despite her worry, she knew Ichigo could more than likely handle any training thrown at him.

If not, then she was there to support him.

As she practiced growing the flowers, she focused mostly on ones that could be used to incapacitate others. Once she had that down she would work on flowers that would help heal and protect, then she would hopefully have time to focus on flowers that would enhance abilities and strength. Like the protea.

Once she was certain enough in her control, she may even ask if she could practice enhancing Ichigo and Angel's strength during their training. Maybe she could even try out the protective aspects of some of the flowers on them.

Angel didn't go back to training yet, for now, she continued to rest and watched her friend grow flowers for a while. She watched as the range that Hana could spread the flowers over steadily increased little by little. After a bit, she decided to look over and see what Ichigo was doing, only for her eyes to widen a bit at the sight of a large dust cloud.

Hana again stopped practicing with the flowers to look over, much like Angel. She was a bit worried but held her tongue, waiting to chew out Urahara until she was sure that this was something that Ichigo couldn't handle. If her brother was fine then she wouldn't bother them.

Ichigo came tumbling out of the dust and went running back in order to grab what seemed to be safety gear before running past Ururu.

Hana couldn't help but roll her eyes as he bickered back and forth with the shopkeeper over the protective gear. He was being childish about the gear, which was obviously needed based on the cloud that had supposedly been caused by Ururu's attack. "Ichigo, just put on the damn gear! Stop being a stubborn brat!" She shouted.

"Dammit!!" Ichigo screeched back and did exactly as Urahara had told him, only to have the blond man laugh at him.

Hana's head shook in exasperation at the antics of the two.

Once the laughing and annoyance had ebbed away, Ichigo put on all of the gear that he was given.

At this point, Hana decided to take a break and sit beside Angel to watch the show that was being made of Ichigo's training. Her spiritual pressure levels were beginning to get low anyway, so it was time for a break.

Angel worried as she watched. She knew that Ichigo could fight and wouldn't back down, she'd been there to experience that once before, but that didn't stop her from worrying about him.

For a short bit, the two girls watched Ichigo run from Ururu, though that didn't last long. Eventually, Ichigo got tired of running and turned to face her head-on. He dodged a punch from her before throwing one in return that just hardly missed her when she dodged at the last second. Soon it was Ichigo throwing the punches while Ururu retreated from each one.

Hana gasped a bit as Ururu planted her foot on Ichigo's arm and aimed a power-packed kick directly for his head.

Another dust cloud erupted around the brawl. As it cleared, Uruhara stood holding Ururu's ankle. He'd kept her from hitting Ichigo with full force. As the dust continued to clear it showed that not all of the power from the kick had been stopped. Ichigo had flown back from the impact and into a cliff. Tessai was holding onto him, protecting him from the full impact of hitting the wall.

Hana would have been worried if Ichigo hadn't gotten up and immediately started yelling. "Dammit! One more time! I'll win next time!" He demanded another match.

"No!" Urahara stopped him, "I congratulate you. Lesson one, cleared!" He declared.

Hana continued to watch, just as confused as her brother.

"Why?! I lost to that girl!!" Ichigo screeched.

The shopkeeper pulled out a fan. "I only said to knock her out before she knocks you out. I never said anything like "knock her out to clear the lesson" right?" He soothed.

Hana got lost during the explanation. That man sure liked to talk, and as much as he seemed to try and keep it interesting, it was pretty boring. She found herself staring at the artificial sky above her, wondering how Rukia was holding up. She relaxed and took a deep breath, the tension melting out of her body.

But when she heard Ichigo screech, she could feel it all come back.

Her eyes snapped open and back to him to see him swinging his severed chain of fate before being pinned down. She stared at it wide-eyed and struggled with whether or not she should start chewing out the shop owner.

"That's right, Ichigo. As your chain of fate is severed, you can no longer return to your body. All you have left now is death." Urahara said coolly.

Hana stood and did her best not to just storm over as she prepared to step in front of the man and get in his face. She was smacked in the chest with a fan before she could step past him. It stopped her so Urahara wouldn't have her interruption. "The corrosion of the chain has already slowly begun from the severed end. If that reaches all the way to your chest..." He trailed off and shifted his eyes between the siblings before continuing. "It'll make a hole in your chest and you'll become a hollow. The end!" He cheered and even threw some confetti that he seemed to pull out of nowhere.

"What?!" Both Hana and Ichigo screeched loudly.

"Is that what happens?!" Hana asked urgently.

"If it disappears I'm gonna become a hollow?!" Ichigo overlapped her.

Urahara looked shocked for a moment. "Oh my, did you not know?" He asked and then tacked on, "I'm surprised."

He kept his arm out in front of Hana, ensuring that she wouldn't get closer. "However, do not worry. Even if you chain of fate has been severed, there is a way to prevent you from becoming a hollow and allow you to continue living... Just one way." He emphasized the end while starting right into Ichigo's eyes.

Hana couldn't help but swallow nervously. Just one way? What if it failed? She worried.

Urahara spared both her and Angel a glance before turning back to Ichigo. "And that way is... to become a soul reaper!" He gave Ichigo a moment to react before continuing. "That's right! Lesson two is for you to take your soul reaper powers back." The slight smile on his face fell. "When the lesson ends you will once again wield the powers of a soul reaper."

Hana watched silently, worried about the "lesson" her brother was undergoing. But, could she really say anything against it? The training she had undergone up to this point had not been this intense, though she had gotten results by listening to Urahara.

"Shall we start lesson two? "Shattered Shaft!"" Urahara pointed off somewhere behind Hana and she turned to see what would happen.

Her head snapped back around when she heard Ichigo scream. A large hole had appeared under Ichigo and Tessai, who had been holding him down.

Angel rushed forward, only stopping at Hana's side.

Urahara smiled in the girl's direction. "Hmm, were you surprised by my great feint?" He questioned them.

Both looked at him, not saying anything. Hana's look was a glare and Angel's one of worry.

Before either could open their mouths to object to what he was doing, Urahara turned his attention to Ururu. "It's pretty deep isn't it?" He asked her.

She fist-pumped proudly. "I put in a lot of effort!"

He gave her a nod and turned back to Angel and Hana. "Now then, back to training you two." He tried to shoo them away.

Hana's glare stayed on him and she didn't move. "I'm not doing anything until you tell me what is happening to him." She defied.

The man sighed and ignored her, only to walk to the edge of the pit and shout into it. "There we go! Just climb up here while you're indisposed like that. That's lesson two, The Shattered Shaft!" He shouted.

Hana walked up beside Uruhara and looked down into the pit to see Ichigo with his arms restrained behind her back. Her unspoken objections stopped before she could voice them when Ichigo yelled.

"What are you talking about? This is impossible!" He shouted.

Hana crossed her arms, fully ready now to chew the shopkeeper out, but he covered her mouth. He really didn't seem to want her butting in.

"Oh my." He cooed. "You're not in the position to question whether or not this is possible. Look! The corrosion has already begun!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Entwined Lives is actually the second version of this story. The first version of this story was called Ichigo's Twin. Hana was Ichigo's twin sister who was almost non-verbal and hadn't let anyone cut her hair since the last time that their mother had.  
> A lot of this story has changed since I first came up with Hana.


	35. Fight Your Way Out!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo has to become a soul reaper to keep living. Hana still isn't sure if it is the right thing to do.  
> Originally typed in September 2019

Ichigo's screams echoed through the area as he noticed his chain of fate devouring itself.

Hana was too far away to see this and Angel was too scared by the incident to get closer, what if Urahara decided to do this to them too?

"What the hell is going on down there?!" Hana snapped once she removed Urahara's hand from her mouth.

The man didn't look at her and didn't even reply directly to her. Instead, he spoke loudly enough for Ichigo to hear him. "The chain of fate that I cut off is starting to consume itself. That is corrosion." He explained.

Hana could hear Ichigo scream again and watched helplessly as he tried to remove the chain by slamming it into the wall of the pit. The glare that had been directed at the man next to her turned to pure worry as she stared down at him.

"That won't do," Urahara spoke up again, once more getting Hana's attention. "If I try to stop it..." He trailed off.

Ichigo suddenly fell to the ground and Hana stepped away, running her hands over her face in fear and worry. She tried to calm herself in order to focus. Once she took a deep breath, she turned back to Urahara.

He didn't notice that, too deep into his explanation to Ichigo. "At the most, 72 hours. In other words, three days!"

Hana's eyes widened, what did she miss?!

"Before the time's up, please transform into a soul reaper and climb up this hole. Or the you that has become a hollow will be destroyed by us." Urahara continued.

Hana cursed and took another breath. When she spoke up to the shopkeeper, her glare was back. "Is there any way that I can help him?" She questioned him.

He looked at her almost blankly. "You can't always help him. This is something that he has to do himself." He told her.

Her jaw clenched, she didn't want to accept that. She wanted to help him. It was her job to help him, it was almost her life to help.

"If you truly want to help him, then you'll train and become stronger. But, be ready." Urahara's voice turned sterner. "If Ichigo fails to escape before he becomes a hollow, you will have to help destroy him." He told her.

Hana's fist clenched, anger flashing in her eyes. "You expect me to be ready to take down my little brother?" She demanded an answer.

Urahara met her glare with no problem. "Of course. If he becomes a hollow then he must be stopped before he harms anyone. Would you rather he kill innocent people? Would you be able to handle it if you were the reason he got loose and killed?" He questioned.

Hana remembered the hollows that she had seen before. Could she really allow her brother to live as one of those?

No, no she couldn't.

But the other question was, would she be able to fight him? Would she be able to defeat him?

Again, the answer was no. At her current level, she would not be able to defeat someone of Ichigo's strength. That was also just the case without him being a hollow. She couldn't even think of how much his strength would increase if he transformed.

With a nod of her head, she turned back to the pit. "Ichigo, you better figure a way out of this or I'll kick your ass!" She shouted down to him.

Ichigo was shocked for a moment before giving a small smile, not that Hana could see it from her place at the top of the pit. "Yeah right! I'd like to see you try!" He shouted back.

The siblings were trying to motivate each other.

Hana turned to Angel who was standing a bit back, she was too nervous to get any closer to the edge of the deep pit. "Let's go, he'll be able to do it." She told the redhead.

Angel could see that Hana was still worried, but she could also see the confidence she had in her brother. The younger girl nodded and the two got back to training.

This time, Hana worked on her swordsmanship. Her usual training partner was busy with Ichigo so she had to find other ways to work through this.

Ginta offered his services, using his bat to go after her. Her task was to block his attacks using her blade and be able to knock it out of his hands.

It was tough, the boy was much stronger than anyone would expect by looking at him. Her feet were left in small craters when she managed to block him and it took a large amount of effort to push him back. But, she persisted. She endured the jeers he threw at her, which was nothing new. When she bickered with Ichigo she often heard similar things.

Urahara had Angel blocking attacks from Ururu now. Her mind was distracted though and this caused her to slip up. Her shadows made up for her mistakes but the shopkeeper noticed.

"Focus! You think there won't be those you can't help during a fight?" He lightly jeered at her.

Angel began to grow frustrated. She was learning how to fight so that she could help her friends. So why couldn't she help all that were in danger and needed it? Part of her mind knew that it was unreasonable to want to protect everyone, but she couldn't deny that she wanted to. Though, she knew she would have to trust some to be able to take care of themselves like she was having to trust that Ichigo would get out of that pit before something bad happened.

The girl refocused and had fewer slip-ups.

Urahara found himself smirking a bit. The girls were improving well. Now he could only hope that they could translate those skills into a real battle. But, his true task would be succeeding with Ichigo. He had faith in the boy and confidence that he had the will to succeed.

During breaks in the girl's training, they would check in on Ichigo. Occasionally they would catch him trying to scale the pit walls, other times he wouldn't move.

Hana's fingers gripped the skin of her knees. "He can do it." She assured herself. "I have no doubt that he'll figure out some way to get out. Ichigo doesn't give up."

Ginta, who was beside her, didn't respond to her. Instead, he shouted down into the pit. "Hey! Are you hungry?"

Ichigo glared at the boy. "How can I be hungry?! I am a soul right now! There's no such thing as hungry!" He snapped.

Hana looked at Ginta curiously, wondering where he was going with this.

His face broke out into a grin. "That's good. Let me tell you something, if you feel hungry in the soul state, then that's a dangerous sign. That means you'll soon be a hollow."

Was he trying to taunt Ichigo?

Angel cast a worried look at Hana, silently asking if all of this was okay.

Hana didn't seem to notice the look. She allowed the children to continue to taunt her brother, she'd seen things like that be a good motivator for him before. Besides, their father taunted him a lot so he was used to it.

"Girls," Urahara got their attention, "if you're not going to go home, at least go and get some rest in the shop." He told them.

Angel went to shake her head and deny that she needed rest, but Hana stood.

"See you later Ichigo. You better be out of there when I come back!" She shouted.

Ichigo grit his teeth in frustration. "Why don't you get your ass down here and show me how to do it then?!" He snapped.

Hana smiled. "I don't need to, I've still got my soul reaper powers." She taunted before heading to the ladder.

Angel followed after her. "Is this really okay?" She questioned.

Hana frowned now and wouldn't meet her friend's eyes. "I don't like this... But, if anyone can do this, it's Ichigo." She assured her.

Angel wanted to agree with her. She wanted to have the same confidence in Ichigo that Hana had, but she couldn't. She didn't tell this to the older girl though, she didn't want to bring the doubt that she saw in Hana's eyes to the surface. She could see that Hana was trying her best to force confidence to win over doubt.

Once the two settled down and readied to sleep, Hana called her father to let him know she might not be home for a while. He simply asked if she was doing the same thing as Ichigo, and she said yes.

Yuzu insisted on talking to her big sister and Isshin handed her the phone, letting the girl talk. She asked question after question and continually talked about her days. She even threw in some of the events that she shared with Karin.

Hana giggled lightly as they spoke. Yuzu was so hard to get off the phone and Hana had told her goodnight several times before she finally got her to give the phone back to their father so Hana could say goodnight to him.

Angel texted Chad to let him know that she was doing alright. She never got much reply from him, but she was happy to get the response of "that's good, keep doing well."

Both managed to fall asleep soon after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana continued to train for the next two days, harder than she had trained before. She made sure to avoid going back to the pit to see Ichigo's progress, or by chance, lack of progress. She was giving him time to figure it out.

The training helped keep her mind off of what was possibly going to happen to him, but breaks were hard. Instead of going to the pit, she took that time to grow her flowers or attempted to enter her inner world again.

Angel stayed by her side during those times, not feeling like she was strong enough to look down on Ichigo in that dark pit again. She could tell that Hana was struggling with it as well and tried to find ways to distract both of them.

The 72 hours were coming to an end soon and Ichigo still hadn't found his way out.

Hana paced back and forth a bit away from the edge as she waited for something to happen.

Angel was a bit farther away, watching Hana pace as she chewed her lip nervously and fidgeted with her fingers.

When Ichigo began to scream, both girls winced. They felt helpless.

Hana was beginning to panic. How could she let this happen? How would she explain this to her family? Why didn't she do something more to help him?

Ichigo's voice started to distort as he screamed. Hana and Angel looked over at the pit but didn't dare get closer, they didn't want to see exactly what was happening yet.

"Fight it... Fight your way out, Ichigo..." Hana muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to lie, Hana is weak. But my belief is if you start with everything then how can you grow? I know people are not going to like her, but if you don't like her then she wasn't written for you to like her. Hana is Hana and she is one of my girls.


	36. Could I Have Done That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana wonders if she could get through the same things that Ichigo has.   
> Originally typed in September 2019

"Hey, hey!" Ginta cried out as he rushed away from the transforming teen. "This guy is really turning into a hollow."

Angel and Hana froze. They could tell this from the distorted screams, but hearing someone else say it just solidified the fact in their minds.

Ichigo was becoming a hollow.

Angel gripped her friend's hand as Ururu prepared to strike at Ichigo. When Urahara stopped her, both girls moved a bit closer. They were scared to see what was happening but felt the need to check.

Ichigo kneeled on the ground, power seeming to flow around him and kicking up dust as something white started covering his face. That was all that they could see from their spot.

Angel gripped Hana's hand tighter in fear and Hana's hand gripped back.

The older girl couldn't tear her eyes away.

"You have to watch him carefully," Urahara told Ururu. "Usually, when a person is turning into a hollow, their soul will explode and then regroup." He explained.

Angel's eyes drifted toward them, eager to look away from the deforming boy in the pit.

Urahara didn't seem to take notice of this, or if he did then he didn't care and continued. "But, his order is very random. His body is still the same, however, it's starting with the mask. This represents him repressing it." Now he looked over to Hana and Angel. "There's still a chance for him to turn into a soul reaper. Let's observe for a little longer and see if he really is transforming into a hollow."

This gave Angel some hope. Ichigo could still come out of this and be alright.

Hana's jaw clenched. She wanted so badly to have the confidence that her brother would pull through. She wanted to believe that he would climb out of the pit at the very last second as a soul reaper.

As the seconds ticked by, it seemed less and less likely that he would. The hollow's mask covered nearly all of Ichigo's face, hardly any was visible to those standing at the top.

Angel teared up, was Ichigo really going to become a hollow?

Hana still refused to look away. That is until a blast of power and light surged into being from the pit.

The girls covered their eyes to protect them.

"I think it's over! I'm changing to eliminate mode!" Tessai shouted.

Hana now kept her eyes closed, gripping Angel's hand just as tightly as the younger girl was doing to her. "Come on, Ichigo." She muttered. "Come back, don't let yourself become this..."

Tessai continued his chants, using the demon arts as he prepared to destroy Ichigo.

Before he could finish, another blast came from the pit. Urahara protected the children as Hana and Angel held tightly to each other.

Something hit the ceiling of the artificial landscape with a crash.

"Seems like something came out! Is it that kid?" Ginta yelled.

Hana opened her eyes, watching as the object that had hit the ceiling fell and crashed into the ground.

"What's going on here...?" Ginta seemed to be the only one with the will to talk at the moment.

Hana's eyes locked on a figure being revealed through the dust. Would it be Ichigo? Other sounds failed to reach her ears as she continued to watch the dust clear. Should she be ready to go a give her brother a death grip of a hug for making it out of this? Or, should she be ready to draw her sword and attack a hollow?

Her right hand fell to Belladonna's hilt as she stared at the being in front of them. But, she hesitated in drawing the sword.

Ichigo did have a hollow's mask covering his face, there was no denying that, but he was also wearing a soul reapers uniform.

What did this mean?

Everyone else seemed just as confused as Hana.

As Ichigo reached for the hilt of the sword on his back, everyone prepared to fight him. However, he didn't move toward them. This didn't mean that he wouldn't decide to attack though.

Everyone stiffened more as Ichigo began to move. He took the hilt of his sword and smashed it into the hollow mask that was covering his face. He took the broken edge and started pulling it away.

Hana began to smile and her hand that had been gripping Belladonna fell to her side. There was something telling her that Ichigo had won, that he was perfectly fine.

The mask was moved to the side of Ichigo's head and he stared out at the people standing in front of him.

Angel smiled just as much as Hana, relieved at the sight of the normal Ichigo but still finding it hard to move towards him.

"So... He didn't turn into a hollow?" Ginta finally questioned.

Urahara cheerfully congratulated the boy before getting a sword hilt with no guard slammed into his face.

"Since I came back alive, that means you'll be dead..." Ichigo threatened.

Hana couldn't help but laugh a bit at the situation. The stress it had caused rolling off her shoulders as she did. "I told you he could do it."

Angel's smile was for both of them. She didn't know what Hana would do if Ichigo hadn't come back from that. She wasn't sure what she would have done in the same situation.

The two watched Ichigo challenge the older man in anger, and neither could blame him. Hana was tempted to join in on the challenge but figured it was something that Ichigo needed to do on his own. She wouldn't interfere.

Hana shook her head as Ichigo attacked the man almost instantly. She was relieved that her bratty little brother was alright. He'd given her quite the scare for a minute there. Of course, he would beat becoming a hollow at the very last possible second. He was just that bratty and stubborn.

She couldn't help but wonder though, would she have been able to do the same thing?


	37. A Little Bit of Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group spends time being teens before things go wild. Akari makes a return to the story!  
> Originally typed in September 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains mentions of alcoholism and underage drinking

Hana had a new sparring partner now. With his sword and soul reaper powers restored, Ichigo became who she trained with. At first, both held back while sparring, not wanting to hurt the other. Urahara pushed them past that as he kept an eye on them.

Ichigo had more power than Hana, but once she began using the flower abilities they were a bit more of an even match. Hana did not have pure power or seemingly built-in skill like Ichigo did, but she had her swords abilities and was working on honing those. She also had a bit more flexibility and more movement range than her brother. If only she could manage to pick up more speed.

Tessai had more of a challenge now when it came to healing the siblings. Hana often poisoned Ichigo with the abilities of Belladonna and Ichigo left deep cuts on her.

Angel took to training with Tessai and the children more often. Tessai was even teaching her some of the demon arts he had. She picked them up fairly quickly, almost as if she'd known them before.

A short time later, all three were told to pretty much enjoy themselves for a week, but be ready to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two eldest Kurosaki siblings waited quietly for their friends. Keigo, once reaching them, immediately complained about being lonely all summer and even reacted angrily when Mizuiro tried to give him a souvenir from his trip.

Ichigo silently watched the two interact, though his mind was on other things.

Hana wandered off to the side a bit, ignoring the bickering going on. She was waiting more so for Angel than anyone else.

A cheerful greeting brought her attention to the group of newcomers. Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad, and Angel had all come as a group. Hana grinned and waved to them before jogging over. She stopped at Tatsuki and looked at her arm, which was currently in a cast.

"Oh Tatsuki, what happened to your arm?" Hana asked.

The dark-haired girl looked down at her arm and then explained to the group about her placing second in and all schools girl's martial arts tournament.

Hana smiled warmly. "That's wonderful!" She cheered.

Ichigo tapped his chin. "However, for your arm to break... What kind of monster was this champion?" He asked.

Tatsuki waved her good hand dismissively. "Ah, you've misunderstood, I didn't break it in the competition. After I got in the best eight I went to buy juice but I was hit by a car." She held up her cast. "Then, I finally used my left arm to take out the semifinal opponent. But the opponent for the finals was an ape-looking woman." She finished.

A small smile came to Tatsuki's face as Hana fussed over her a little. She continually assured the older girl that she was fine but it took a bit of convincing before Hana moved on to walk with Angel and Chad.

The group was heading out to watch fireworks.

Tatsuki prepared to settle down on the river while Keigo complained about not being dressed up for the festival that the fireworks were for.

Hana hummed in thought at this and turned to Angel. "Would you like to go get a kimono?"

Before Angel could answer, a shout distracted them. Ichigo flinched at the familiar voices while Hana smiled.

Her father and sisters came running up, all dressed up and grinning ear to ear. The girl's tackled Ichigo while laughing, making him fall to the ground. Yuzu was trying to feed him a chocolate-covered banana but he was refusing. Hana excused herself from the others in order to help.

"Are you saying my chocolate tastes bad?!" Yuzu yelled.

"You're too loud! Are you drunk?!" Ichigo yelled back.

"She is drunk," Isshin confirmed.

Hana squeaked and pulled Yuzu to her. "Why is she drunk?"

Yuzu simply giggled and hugged her.

Their father explained the incident calmly, almost if it was no problem. Supposedly, juice and wine had been mixed up.

Hana pouted. "I certainly would have complained... That seems really dangerous to me..." She said but was ignored.

"We went to save a seat at the opposite bank at seven in the morning... We all went there!" Isshin cheered. Yuzu and Karin cheered along with him.

Hana sighed. "I suppose I should keep an eye on them." She mumbled.

Angel looked at her with a frown. "They've been fine so far, and you wanted to get a kimono." She tried to appeal. "Besides look, almost everyone is going with them."

Hana looked at the leaving group before smiling a bit. "Fine then, let's go!" She chirped. She then waved at the others, "We'll catch up shortly!" She called.

With that, the two girls headed to one of the stalls selling kimonos and began their quick search for some that they liked. It didn't take long before they settled on two.

Angel's was white with multicolored butterflies embroidered on it.

Hana's was black and printed with multicolored flowers.

The two bought the kimonos and went to find a place to change before taking off to look for their group. Luckily, their trip hadn't taken so long that the fireworks would have already been going off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the same festival, Akari waded through many people. She dressed in a gradient decorated black and red kimono. Her hands were folded into her sleeves, much as they would be if she was walking around in her soul reaper garb. Her red eyes took in the people around her.

She'd been to these festivals before, though never really participated much. With her confidence slowly starting to return and the possibility that she may not be able to attend another festival, she decided to have some fun and actually participate in this one.

Her eyes wandered from person to person, spotting someone intoxicated every now and again. For a minute it made her want to revert to her old ways. It made her want to get drunk and have fun that way. It made her want to forget her entire life, just for the night.

But she wouldn't.

As much as she wanted to, she wouldn't sink back into her old ways. She had promised herself to never again fall into that pattern.

Though, she couldn't help but wonder if being an alcoholic through her whole ordeal with _Him_ would have made it easier.

With a shake of her head, she decided to get a drink of juice. The old man running the stall seemed friendly enough. She bought some of his juice while giving him a small smile.

As she took a sip she found herself faced with a familiar flavor. A scowl twisted across her features as she spat the alcohol-filled beverage out to the side and out of anyone's way. Rage built up within her and she marched back to the stall.

Her drink was slammed onto the table of the stall, more anger rising as she saw someone buying the exact same drink for their young child. "Don't buy that." She growled at the woman.

The woman flinched and looked at her nervously. "Why not?"

Akari stood straight, her eyes now trained in a steely glare on the salesman. "I bought the same drink and it's spiked." She told the mother.

The other woman let out a gasp and pulled her money away. She pulled her child by the hand as she went elsewhere, hopefully, to a stall with a better keeper.

Akari's glare hardened more, an old fire burning behind them as she continued to stare down the old man. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She spat. "Are all of these drinks spiked?" She demanded loudly, purposely catching other people's attention.

The man didn't answer her, fueling the fire more.

"Do you not realize how dangerous that is? You're selling to children and people that you don't know. You have no idea how they might react to it!" She shouted.

The scene began to draw a crowd. Many people giving the man disapproving and disgusted looks.

She wanted to make a scene, it was more likely the man would be held accountable for what he'd done and be ejected from the festival.

Murmurs started to go through the crowd, surely this was enough of a stir to get some results.

It didn't take long before the man was forced to leave the festival.

Akari didn't stick around, she folded her arms into her kimono sleeves once again and continued toward the river where she'd heard fireworks would be shot off.

She'd had the chance there, she could have easily kept drinking.

But she didn't.

The first firework shot off, catching her attention and distracting her as it lit up the sky.


	38. The Beginning of the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To the Soul Society we go!  
> Originally typed in September 2019

Hana and Ichigo both sat on the younger's bed, waiting for the signal that everything was ready. They had already informed their father that they would be leaving for a while on a trip.

Ichigo slid his window open and 1 a.m. "This... this should be okay..." he muttered. "But I have a bad feeling."

Hana took a breath and felt the breeze brush against her face. "The breeze is nice though."

Ichigo found himself smiling a little as he agreed with her. His smile dropped when he noticed something flying toward them. The unknown object flew between the siblings and splattered a red goop all over the wall.

"What was that?" He had to try and keep himself from yelling, Karin and Yuzu were asleep.

Both Hana and Ichigo watched as the red goop transformed into the words "Please meet at Urahara shop immediately."

"What the hell?!" Ichigo jumped up. "That punk... what is he doing? This looks like a message for someone who is about to die?!" He ranted.

Hana hummed in thought. "I hope it can be washed off." She threw in.

The goop still continued to form words. "P.S. Those who think this looks like a message for someone who's about to die, have no humor."

Ichigo chucked a pillow at the message. "This is stupid!" He complained.

Hana couldn't help but laugh as she stood. "Well, it says immediately, so let's get going." She encouraged Ichigo. She didn't really want to leave her family like this, but if they didn't go now then she might talk herself out of it entirely.

The two tiptoed their way out of the house, closing the door as quietly as possible. However, they couldn't avoid being noticed by someone.

Their father let out a loud shout of good morning as he jumped from the room, he didn't seem to care that the neighbors and his two youngest were still asleep at this time. Both teens managed to avoid him, causing him to land on his head.

"What are you doing?!" Ichigo snapped.

Hana was more concerned with helping their father right himself and making sure that he wasn't hurt too badly.

"You escaped my attack just now. No wonder, I mean you are my son" Isshin praised and then pulled a charm out of his pocket, holding it out to Ichigo. "Before you leave, I want to give this to you."

"What is this dirty safety charm?" Ichigo questioned.

"You say it's dirty, that's rude!" Isshin snapped back at Ichigo, accepting Hana's help standing before taking his weight off of her shoulders. "That's the safety charm your mom gave me! It will bring fortune and good luck."

Hana smiled a bit, going to say that it was a sweet gesture but Ichigo spoke before she could.

"What're you doing?! How can you give this to me?!" He shouted, butting heads with his father.

"Of course I'm not giving it to you!" Isshin shouted back. The two pulled away from each other. "I'm only lending it to you while you're out traveling. When you come back remember to return it to me."

Ichigo looked at the charm in his hand almost sadly.

Hana pats his back, knowing he was wondering if he would really be returning. She'd had the same thought before.

Isshin made sure to get their attention again. "Hey! Why don't you answer me? You have to return it! If you lose it, then you have to shave my beard!" He threatened.

Hana couldn't help but giggle a bit, still smiling while Ichigo accepted the charm.

Her father turned his attention to her and he smiled. "Now Hana, you take care of yourself." He put his hands on her shoulders. "You come back in good health and don't let Ichigo drag you into anything stupid." He said firmly.

Hana kept a smile on her face. "Of course, Daddy." She hugged him. "But you know I won't let him do anything too stupid."

Isshin hugged her back, patting her head fondly before she pulled away from the hug.

"Sorry, we need to go now or we'll be late. Bye Daddy!" She called behind her as she started to run after Ichigo.

Their father grinned at their backs as they left.

Hana did her best to keep up with Ichigo. The training she had undergone seemed to have helped quite a bit and even in her body, she was having a lot less trouble keeping up with him. If she weren't so nervous right now she might have felt proud of herself.

A familiar head of orange hair entered their field of vision.

"Orihime?" Ichigo called out.

Orihime noticed her friends. "Ichigo? Hana?" Her pace matched up with them as they all kept running.

"You were summoned too?" Ichigo asked her.

"Yeah..." Her reply trailed off.

Hana frowned a little, noticing her dejected tone. "What's wrong? You seem upset."

Orihime looked away from them. "Actually... I was told I had no sense of humor." She explained, not happy about it in the least.

Ichigo, instead of pursuing that topic anymore, changed the subject. "Before Urahara mentioned it, I didn't know you were coming along..." His tone was obviously concerned.

Hana could understand, Orihime didn't seem like much of a fighter. But, she knew that the other girl would stand up for and help her friends.

"Yeah!" Orihime's tone was suddenly much brighter.

"You sure?" Ichigo pushed.

Orihime just smiled, "Of course! Because I made the decision myself!"

Both Hana and Ichigo smiled at her, picking up their pace a bit.

"Then, let's hurry!" Hana cheered. Orihime's mood could be infectious.

The trio rushed to Urahara's shop, all three panting once they got there. At the door, they found Chad and Angel.

Angel waved at the three. She was nervous and trying to hide it, this was a big event and one that she was determined to have a part in it. She wouldn't let any of her friends or her brother talk her out of going just because she seems nervous.

"Hey..." Ichigo greeted.

"You guys are fast..." Orihime complimented between her attempts to catch her breath.

Hana waved back with a smile.

"We couldn't sleep," Angel explained why they were there before the other three.

Chad stood from his seat on a crate beside the entrance to the shop. "So we took a walk and got the notice around here." He finished for Angel.

"Around here?" Ichigo asked.

Both Chad and Angel pointed a bit down the path. Sure enough, there was the exact same message in red goop on a wall.

Hana shook her head as she finally caught her breath.

"Are you doing okay?" Angel questioned her.

Hana nodded and smiled again. "Yeah, just excited about all of this. How are you doing?"

Angel fidgeted with her fingers. "I'm doing okay... I'm not sure that excited is the right word for what I'm feeling though."

The older girl nodded in understanding and the two continued to converse among themselves while they waited, supposedly for Uryu to arrive. This was their way of settling their nerves.

When Uryu arrived, he seemed to be doing his best to seem cool in front of the others. Making sure to tell everyone that he had been training to get stronger and what had motivated him to do so.

Hana chuckled lightly and shook her head. "See, this will be fun." She tried to encourage Angel.

Angel felt a bit of sweat bead up at her temple as she watched the Quincy boy snap at Ichigo for commenting on his clothes.

The two were stopped by Urahara's voice. "Oh, everyone is here. That's great!" The man walked up to and opened his shop door, his cheerful tone changing as he did. "Come in and I'll explain to you guys how to go to the Soul Society."

The group followed him inside and to the underground room. Ichigo, Hana, and Angel had all seen the room before, but the others hadn't.

Orihime was awed by everything about it. "This is amazing! I didn't know there was such a large space underground! This is so cool! It's like a secret base!" She gushed.

Ichigo was a bit lost at how to deal with Orihime's reaction but Hana smiled fondly at her. She loved how Orihime saw things and often tried to get into that mindset when looking at new things.

"You..." Tessai caught the group's attention, only to clasp onto Orihime's hand. "Your reaction is so good! I, Tessai, feel so touched!" He thanked.

Hana couldn't help the soft "aw" that escaped her. She found the whole scene cute.

Angel giggled quietly, thinking near the same thing.

Clapping cut through everything else, Urahara's way of bringing the attention back to him in this situation. "Okay, everybody! Please look over here." He snapped his fingers. "We're about to leave."

What looked to be paper-covered blocks because to appear from what seemed to be thin air. They lengthened and connected to each other to form a doorway.

"This is the door to the Soul Society, a senkaimon." Urahara started explaining. "Please listen carefully, I will now teach you the way to go through this door without dying."

Without saying another word, he hit Ichigo in the head with the end of his cane, separating his soul from his body.

Everyone seemed a bit shocked at this, other than Hana, Ichigo, and Angel.

Hana patiently waited for the same thing to happen to her while Uryu, Chad, and Orihime were fussing over Ichigo. She didn't have to wait long and stretched out her arms once her soul was free from her body.

Angel, who was used to this by now, smiled a bit at the others. She wondered if she would have to undergo the same thing before they went through the door.

Kon's appearance did shock her though. She stared at the stuffed lion for a minute while Hana walked over to it and Ichigo.

"Why are you here?" Both Hana and Ichigo asked though the elder's tone was much calmer.

"You're asking me why?" Kon snapped. "I'm going with you, of course! You want to leave me behind? As the man, Kon, I will go through all difficulties and reach the Soul Society..." He trailed off as Chad grabbed and stared at him.

As the stuffed lion screamed, Hana laughed a bit. Despite everything that she had seen, it seemed a bit absurd to see Chad staring at a screaming stuffed toy.

Angel wasn't sure how to react and didn't have time to process what was happening with the stuffed lion before Urahara demanded attention again.

"Okay, look over here. I'm starting the explanation of this door!" Everyone looked toward him and the doorway as he started explaining. "Usually this door is made by adding reishihenkankon to the top of the senkaimon and the use of ketsugoufu to cover it up so it stays together."

"Reishihenkanki?" Ichigo questioned.

Hana didn't quite understand all of this but didn't speak up.

"Yes," Urahara affirmed. "As you know, the Soul Society is the world of souls. In order to go there, you have to be a soul. Currently, the only ones who can move around as a soul are Ichigo and Hana who are soul reapers. For others, even if their souls are separated from their bodies, they're still chained by the chain of fate. Not to mention to go to the Soul Society, it's even hard to move."

"That's why there's a need for the reishihenkanki! This thing changes the "kishi", which makes up things in the living world into "reshi" which is the main component of souls!" He continued.

"So it means we don't have to separate the souls, we just have to go through this door." Uryu simplified.

Hana understood his version much easier than she understood Urahara's.

"Right! You guys can go to the Soul Society with your original form!" The shopkeeper confirmed.

Ichigo stared at the man. "Okay, I got it! Then let's go in." He was hit in the hip with Urahara's cane. "Oh shit!" He yelped.

"Now is the most important topic!" Urahara scolded before continuing. "There's no problem with going through this door. Reishihenkanki won't bring pain, as long as you go forward, you can go to the Soul Society." His expression dropped into a more serious one. "The problem is "time". The time allowed to go through the senkaimon to the Soul Society is only four minutes!"

The rescue group all seemed to share sentiments of shock as they stared at Urahara.

He gave them a moment to process the current information before continuing. "Once the time is up, the door will close, and you guys will be locked forever inside the dangai. Inside the dangai, in order to prevent enemies such as hollows, it's filled with a current called kouryuu, which can stop souls from moving. If just one foot gets caught by it, then the chance of leaving the dangai in time is almost impossible."

"Then... What should we do?" Orihime questioned.

"Just walk forward." A new, but familiar voice answered. Before the group stood a familiar black cat with gold eyes.

"Yoruichi!" Orihime, Hana, and Angel greeted.

The cat didn't return the greeting. "Didn't I tell you? The heart and the soul are connected. What's important is how your heart thinks." He said and walked up to the senkaimon before looking back at the group. "Only those who can do it may follow me."

Everyone took a step forward, ready to run if they needed to be. And from the sounds of it, they did need to be.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo spoke up. "Those who chose to gather here have made the decision and are determined to follow it!" He announced.

"You should know very well, Kid, if you lose then you will never return." Yoruichi reminded them all.

Hana's fist clenched at her side. She had expected that kind of thing from the beginning.

Still, no one backed down.

"We'll win, we have to!" Ichigo answered for them all.

Yoruichi looked at him. "Well said."

Urahara and Tessai began pouring power into the senkaimon.

"Are you ready? The moment it's opened, you guys will dash in there." Urahara readied the group.

"Got it." Hana found herself chanting alongside Ichigo.

As a last thought, Ichigo spoke to Kon. "Please take care of my family." He requested.

Kon couldn't reply due to being gagged, a result of his earlier mouthing and screaming.

The senkaimon came to life and the seven rushed in, coming face to face with the so-called dangai.

"Come on! Don't zone out, hurry, and run!" Yoruichi reminded them.

The group did as told, taking off.

This was it, the begging of the rescue.


	39. Welcome to the Soul Society

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akari continues her role as a traitor. The Rukia Rescue Squad has reached the Soul Society!  
> Originally typed in September 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains mentions of violence and the severance of a limb.

Akari watched the group up until they entered Urahara's shop, which was all she needed to hear to know for sure that they would be coming to the Soul Society very shortly. She headed there herself through the new entrance that had been made for her. One that wouldn't be detected, unless she decided to pull her stunt again. She had been punished for making the old one unusable, but that didn't matter now. However, if she were to do it again, the punishment would be more severe.

 _He_ was alone when she arrived so she could immediately deliver the information. "You're intruders should arrive and the west gate in the Rukon district soon." She said flatly.

 _He_ smirked. "Excellent, why don't you help them cause some chaos once the time comes." He told her.

Akari clenched her jaw and glared at him. She had her own plans, but they varied depending on what the intruding group did. Instead of denying him, she hid and waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the Rukia Rescue team ran through the dangai, the goo that seemed to be surrounding everything collapsed behind them. It seemed to move faster and faster.

"It really caught up with us!" Uryu shouted. "The parts we've passed through are falling!"

Hana tried not to focus on what he was saying and instead focused more on running.

"If you have time to look behind you, why not run faster!" Yoruichi snapped. "If you're caught by the kouryuu you're finished!"

The kouryuu collapsed a bit faster still, now managing the catch the cape that Uryu was wearing.

"Idiot, it's because you're wearing those stupid clothes!" Ichigo snarled and went to draw his sword.

Yoruichi was lucky to notice in time. "Hold on! Don't use your sword! If you use it, you will not escape!"

"Then what should we do?" Hana asked she didn't want to leave Uryu behind.

She received no answer, instead, Chad ripped the cape off of Uryu's shoulders. As he was thanked he swung the Quincy over his shoulder.

Angel glanced back only to stumble over her feet for just a second, but this was enough to catch Ichigo's attention. In fear of the girl falling and being trapped, he lifted her into his arms and kept running. She squeaked and turned a little red but didn't object.

Uryu didn't seem happy with his situation and continued to protest. "Put me down, Chad! Put me..." He cut off for a second as he noticed something else. "Guys, look... It's like something is coming!" He warned.

Indeed there was something very large coming up behind them.

"What is that?!" Uryu screeched.

Yoruichi took one glance to be able to tell what it was. "That's seimichio! He's the cleaner that goes through every seven days... But why today?! Let's get out of here! He's really fast!" He ordered.

"Hurry! We're almost there!" Hana shouted, trying to encourage everyone to move a bit faster.

The group pushed themselves harder but the cleaner was catching up.

Orihime chanced a glance back and put her hands to her hairpins. Calling forth the power she had developed, she created a barrier. The cleaner came into contact with it and the force of the barrier breaking apart shot the whole group through the doorway on the other end, straight into the Soul Society.

Orihime was the first to recover. She sat up and looked over all of her friends, making sure that they were still together. "Are you guys alright?"

Hana sat up from her position on her side and gave a thumbs up while she caught her breath. She also took a minute to look over everyone, not even thinking to chuckle at Ichigo's awkward landing position.

"I really didn't expect that we would be so pathetic..." Uryu grumbled. He then pulled out another cape for his outfit.

Orihime continued to smile. "Looks like everyone is alright, that's great!" She cheered.

Yoruichi wasn't so happy about it. "What's so good about it?! Did you even hear what I said?! Good thing the shield was the only thing that touched seimicho. If it was your body then you would be dead!" He snapped and swatted at her.

Orihime apologized quietly while Hana offered a hand to help her stand. She ignored her brother and the cat bickering as she helped Orihime to her feet with a smile, trying to bring back the other girl's smile.

"Hey, the smoke is clearing," Uryu called. This caused the group to take in their surroundings.

Old-style buildings and cobblestone streets surrounded them.

Ichigo was a bit awed at it, not sure what he should have expected. "This is the Soul Society?"

Yoruichi glanced around as well, but to make sure that there were no threats directly around them. "Yes, this is the outskirts. The Rukon district. The place where souls live when they first come to the Soul Society. It's located around the Seireitei. The Rukon district is the poorest and largest free area, but it also holds the highest number of souls." He explained.

Angel's eyes scanned the area curiously. Something here seemed fairly familiar. Where had she seen building's like this before? Other than the old-style shops like Urahara's.

Uryu was the first to voice a concern that no one else seemed to have noticed yet. "No one is here..."

Ichigo didn't seem to care about that, instead, he noticed some different looking buildings up ahead. "Those streets aren't that different from the ones we live on." He pointed out. He didn't allow Yoruichi a chance to say anything before he continued. "That should be where those soul reapers live, right?!" Again, he didn't wait for an answer before he took off in that direction.

Yoruichi was less than pleased. "Idiot! You can't get near there!! You could die!"

Ichigo froze and looked back over his shoulder, only to get thrown away from his original spot a second later as something huge slammed into the ground.

"Ichigo!" All three girls called out in worry.

Hana ran to her brother despite the wind being caused by the movement of what seemed to be segments of a very large wall placing themselves on the ground. She wrapped her arms around Ichigo, offering what little protection she could that way. She had rushed here on instinct, not thinking what would happen after she did.

Once the dust and wind settled, a voice cut through the silence. "It's been such a long time since someone has tried to enter through the torueimon without a pass."

Both Kurosaki's stared at the being that towered above them with wide eyes.

"Finally, I have something to do. I'll treat you nice, Kid!" The giant promised. He brought his weapon down between the orange-haired siblings, forcing them to rush apart from each other as the man chuckled. His ax stayed embedded in the ground between the siblings. "Bring it on! Attack from whatever angle you want, Kiddo!!" He taunted.

Angel took a step back in fear and scooted closer to Chad. She didn't know what she expected to see in the Soul Society, but this wasn't it.

Uryu was staring that the giant in similar shock. "So big... Who is he? With such a huge body, he sure is no human, right? Who the hell is that guy?" He rambled.

Yoruichi put his head down. "His name is Jidanbou. He is one of the elites in the soul society. The guard of one of the four gates."

Angel looked at the guardian again, now a tug seemed to exist in the back of her mind. The same kind of tug she got when she first looked around.

"So we have to defeat this monster to enter the seireitei," Uryu said and he started to put things together.

Yoruichi agreed with him. "Yes, but it isn't going to be easy. He has been a guardian for 300 years and no one has ever passed him to enter the west gate."

Angel finally decided to speak up. "He's that strong?" She asked.

"He is, one swing from his ax and you will disappear from this world. He is the legendary Hercules." Yoruichi informed while staring at the scene in front of them.

Uryu, ever full of questions for good reasons, spoke again. "How do we beat such a giant?"

Yoruichi narrowed his eyes a bit at Ichigo and Hana's location. "This is about strategy. Ichigo, Hana, retreat! We'll come with a plan!" He shouted to the two.

Orihime and Chad didn't seem to hear and ran towards the towering giant.

Angel went to follow but Yoruichi stepped in front of her with a warning glare. The girl gulped and stopped her advance.

Jidanbou noticed the approaching duo and swung his ax into the ground, creating a wall of earth to stop them. "Your behavior sickens me. Are you from an uncivilized area?" He questioned them. "Listen, this city has rules. First, wash your hands when you come back home. Second, no eating food that has fallen on the ground." The giant started counting off on his fingers. "Third, a duel is nothing else but one-on-one." He looked down at Ichigo and Hana.

"Only one of you can fight me."

Hana looked at Ichigo. In terms of power, he was stronger than her. In terms of strategy, he was likely better than her as well. If one of the two of them had a chance of beating this guy, she accepted that it was him.

Ichigo seemed to be on the same train of thought and smiled at his sister. "Leave this to me. I'll get us through." He assured her.

Hana gave him a nod and called up to the giant in front of them. "Pardon me, Sir. If you are going to be fighting him, may I please be allowed on the other side of your earth wall with my friends?" She asked politely, she had the feeling that manners would go far with this guy. He seemed like a stickler for rules.

Jidanbou agreed with her and carefully helped Hana to the other side while Ichigo made sure that Chad and Orihime would stay out of the upcoming fight.

Hana thanked and bowed to the giant before heading back over Angel and Yoruichi. She had no say in what was about to happen.

"What's going on?" Angel asked.

Hana took a breath, steeling herself for whatever may happen. "Ichigo is going to fight the big guy."

Angel thought back to everything that Yoruichi had said about the gate guardian. "That sounds like a bad idea..." She mumbled.

Hana could almost roll her eyes. "When had Ichigo ever had a good idea..." She muttered.

The group could hear the giant start laughing loudly, though, over what, they couldn't see. Hana tapped the hilt of her sword impatiently. She worried over this but tried not to. So far, if you don't count the incident with the soul reapers who came to retrieve Rukia and if you looked at the Grand Fisher incident from a certain angle, Ichigo had overcome everything thrown at him. Hana had confidence in him, though she was a worrier and would worry over his well-being.

The spiritual pressure in the area seemed to climb and blasts, clashes, and clangs could be heard just on the other side of the earthen wall that the giant had created. Rumbles shook the ground enough to be felt even by Angel, Yoruichi, and Hana who stood farther back.

Then, something sliced through the wall. The rubble fell in the empty land between the split up group.

Angel flinched and watched on quietly. She'd seen Ichigo train before and in a fight against soul reapers, and this reminded her too much of that. However, Ichigo had taken the giant's attack and from where she stood, she couldn't see a scratch on him.

Beside Angel, Hana cheered. Even as Jidanbou prepared another attack, this one with two axes, she cheered Ichigo on. She succeeded in pushing back her doubt about Ichigo winning.

Ichigo didn't move away from the next attack, instead, he swung his blade once. The power behind his swing caused the two axes to break and the giant to fall on his back.

The rescue group stared in awe, not sure they believed their own eyes for a moment.

Jidanbou leaped to his feet again, spouting off confidently for a moment before realizing that both of his weapons were broken. The confidence shortly turned to grief.

Ichigo, ever the good-hearted boy he was, attempted to comfort the sobbing man. The attempt seemed to touch the man's heart.

Hana smiled warmly, just another example of how kind her younger brother was.

After being told that they would be allowed through, everyone stepped closer to the giant. Angel stayed back a bit further at Yoruichi's insistence and stayed close to her. Silently hoping to keep the girl away from those that may be familiar with her.

"The warriors inside are all powerful guys," Jidanbou warned Ichigo.

Ichigo steeled himself and a determined look flashed across his face. "I know."

The giant stared at him for a moment before speaking again. "I see... Then you better be prepared. Alright, I'm opening the gate now. Don't be astonished. Take a breath and rush inside." He advised the group before beginning to lift the gate.

The teens stared up at him as he raised the massive gate up over his head. Three of them chorused in awe while Hana grinned and cheered. Angel giggled a bit in pure excitement.

However, the giant froze. He was staring at something in front of him with a fearful look.

In front of him was a silver-haired soul reaper with a wide smile on his face.

"Who's that guy?" Ichigo asked once he noticed.

Jidanbou didn't seem to be replying to Ichigo so much as speaking to himself when he answered. "The captain of the third squad, Gin Ichimaru..."

Hana's eyes widened a bit. A captain, like the black-haired man who had almost killed them. The man who hardly did a thing against them, he simply radiated an air of power.

The silver-haired man, Gin, tutted. "This isn't allowed." In only a second he had gone into an attack stance and sliced one of the giant's arms clean off of his body. "You are a gatekeeper, opening the gate is not your duty."

The smile didn't falter at all.

The giant did his best to hold the gate with one arm at the moment it took him to register the pain and the fact that one of his arms was missing before he screamed.

Hana let out a horrified gasp as the giant fell to his knees, letting the gate's full weight rest on his shoulders.

Gin seemed amused. "Oh, you can still hold the door even with one hand? No wonder you're one of the elites in the Soul Society. However, you still fail as the guardian."

The rescue group stood silent, unsure of what to do.

Jidanbou managed to speak through his pain. "Because I lost... The guardian opens the door when he loses."

The captain's smile turned more berating. "What idiotic rules are you talking about? You misunderstood. Even when the guardian loses the guardian may still not open the door." He stepped forward. "If the "guardian" lost then that would mean... He must be executed." His grin changed again to sinister as his blade lengthened, heading straight for the giant.

Ichigo blocked the attack with his own blade and Hana moved to see if there was even the smallest thing that she could do to help the poor man who had his arm chopped off. She was shortly knocked back away from the gate as Ichigo slammed into her and Jidanbou with impressive force.

"The door is closing again!" Ichigo exclaimed.

The captain, with the same wide smile on his face, leaned down before the gate completely closed allowing him to see the group. "Bye-bye." He sang, leaving the rescue group and the injured giant behind.


	40. Please Come Home...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some people who miss Akari, and some people who don't understand why.  
> Originally typed in September 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains mentions of death

A dark-haired girl leaned quietly against a wall, waiting for others to arrive at a meeting. Her thoughts had been a jumble recently, leading to it being a bad idea for her to be left alone to her thoughts.

First, her mother's spiritual pressure had been detected after years of the woman supposedly being dead. Then, her captain seemed to be acting oddly. He wouldn't answer her questions or tell her what was wrong with him.

It had started before she started questioning about the mission that he'd gone on with the infamous Red Demon. He had requested her to go on that mission specifically and that had been the mission that she had disappeared on. When the captain returned he said that he'd lost track of the rebellious woman and then her spiritual pressure had vanished while in the same area as some hollows.

The girl asked her superior if there was any possible way that he could have mistaken the woman for dead, or perhaps she had just hidden away for some reason or other. But, her captain wouldn't answer her.

If Akari was alive, then maybe there was a chance that her friend was alive too. Both of their disappearances had been linked to the same person and it was believed that he had killed them. It was also the same person who was believed to cause the horrible thing that had happened to Kuro.

Her hands gripped her knees tightly at the thought of that day. Memories of Kuro in the past surfaced and played through her mind on fast-forward, leading up to the day of his death. Now all she could remember of him was the deformed version that she had seen just before his death.

She never wanted to believe that Kuski could do something like that, but it was the only explanation. And her friend disappearing, last seen with him and never seen again, what other explanation could there be?

Familiar voices thankfully pulled her from her thoughts. Two other people in soul reaper uniforms with armbands placed around their left arms announcing their rank. Though every one of her rank had them, the design of each one was unique to the squad that they belonged to.

"Renji, Tetsuzeimon." She called the two, welcoming the distraction from her previous thoughts.

"Oh Momo, you're the only one here?" Renji, the soul reaper with the spiky red ponytail acknowledged her.

She nodded her head. "Yes... I think so."

Another voice cut in. "What do you expect, all the captains and lieutenants are scattered around the Soul Society with their missions." The older woman with strawberry blonde hair said. "It'll take at least half a day to gather everyone." She stepped into the small group. "Though I can't find my captain anywhere." She rubbed the back of her head and muttered, "my head hurts."

Renji looked over to her. "Who's your captain?"

It wasn't the woman who answered him, but the other man, Tetsuzaimon. "It's that Hitsugaya."

"Ah, that baby genius? That's bad." Renji sighed.

Momo hadn't moved from her spot. The familiar name pulling her out of her thoughts once again. "Renji..." She spoke up.

The man in question looked down at the girl. "Yeah?"

"Have you seen Captain Aizen anywhere?" Momo asked hopefully.

Renji turned his head away from her now. "No, I haven't seen him." He lied.

Momo hunched in on herself. Was her captain avoiding her? The captain who had been there for her through all of the bad things that happened to her? If something was bothering him, then she wanted to help him just like he would help her.

"I think... He's been acting strange... He doesn't tell me what's wrong. No matter how many times I've asked..." She confided in Renji. "What should I do?"

It used to be that she would go to Akari for advice in situations like this. Then, once Akari disappeared she went to Kuro. Now, now she didn't have either of them.

Renji stared at her for a minute, trying to think of how to console her. "Don't worry..." He finally spoke. "Everything will be fine. This meeting is probably no big deal too." He told her.

A small smile came to Momo's face after a moment. "I'm sure you're right." She made herself straighten up a bit. "Maybe this meeting has something to do with Akari, maybe they found her." She hoped.

Renji didn't want to extinguish Momo's hopes, but he never understood exactly what the deal was between the dark-haired sweetheart and the despised Red Demon.

No one knew the true relationship between Momo and Akari, they simply knew that she had attached herself to the flame-haired woman during her time in the academy.

Renji rubbed the back of his neck. He had seen how the two acted together and the woman seemed rather fond of Momo. But, he couldn't get the horrible things he had heard about her out of his mind. He'd always feared that she would be a horrible influence on Momo.

Many people had that same fear and tried to tell Momo how horrible the older woman was, but Momo seemed too stubborn to believe them.

"Hey, Momo... You know she wasn't really that nice of a person..." Renji trailed off.

Momo smiled up at him from her place on the floor. "That's because you didn't know her." She answered calmly. She'd had to deal with people telling her these things since Akari had placed herself into Momo's training in the academy. It didn't quite bother her as much now as it did back then.

Renji went silent again. He knew that Momo had seen the volatile woman snap and fight with her own teammates before. Yet, he'd also seen the woman be friendly, cheerful, and kind when around Momo.

Momo retreated back into the memory of her makeshift family. Only two people in the seireitei really know what Akari had been like. She was a little upset that no one would open their minds to who the woman really was, but she resigned herself to be happy that she was one of the two that knew that side of her.

The other person who knew that side of her was the only one that Momo could possibly reminisce with. But, he didn't want to speak of the past. He didn't want to speak of his mother. He didn't want to speak of his brother, his friend, or the man who had helped raise them either. He preferred to either block out the memories or relive them in his mind once he was alone. She wasn't sure which it was.

She tilted her eyes up to the ceiling, at the moment wishing that if her mother was still out there, that she would return home at some point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this chapter has me pretty excited. Get some new names in there that I've kind of been waiting for. But it's also a little short, sorry about that.


	41. The Red Demon's Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Red Demon is really back this time. The Rukia Rescue Gang is going to vibe check the Soul Society.  
> Originally typed in October 2019  
> Please forgive my bad summaries.

The captains and lieutenants of the Soul Society were in meetings when the alarm sounded. Due to that, the meetings were ended rather quickly. A few suspicious glances cast at one captain in particular.

Gin Ichimaru, the captain who had encountered the intruders and allowed them to live.

Another captain stopped him on the way out. "The alarm came at the perfect time." Captain Souske Aizen confronted the pale-haired man.

Gin smirked. "What do you mean? I'm afraid that I do not understand." He certainly didn't seem remorseful of what he had done, or even afraid of the confrontation happening at the moment.

The other captain didn't look at him, keeping his back facing him instead. "Do you actually think you can get away with this?" He accused. "It's best not to underestimate me."

The two walked away from each other, not seeming to notice the eyes of another captain watching them. Inquisitive eyes taking in every detail of the interaction that they could and committing it to memory before continuing in his own way.

When a strange sound cut through the air he, like many others, looked to the sky. Something was falling from it. His eyes narrowed slightly and he refused to look around to others as sounds of panic arose.

The flying sphere hit the shield surrounding the seireitei and started to come apart. It split into four different pieces, each going in a different direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The section of the orb that housed Angel, Hana, and Yoruichi was headed directly for a group of soul reapers, a group that was more than ready to intercept them.

Angel's eyes were closed tight as Hana held tightly to her and Yoruichi.

Hana closed her eyes as well, tightening her grip by a fraction as she expected an impact with the ground. But, the impact she got was not what she expected.

The girls opened their eyes to find themselves on a roof not too far away from the spot where the impact had been expected. They could still hear the soul reapers searching for them. Making the quick decision not to make a noise, the two girls looked at Yoruichi waiting for directions.

The cat flicked his tail and started walking, Hana and Angel followed after him.

Yoruichi counted himself lucky to get the two who were most likely to listen to him. He was even luckier that he got Angel, this way he could try to keep the girl out of unnecessary trouble.

Or, at least he hoped so.

With Hana here, he had someone he could trust to try and keep out of trouble if he needed to leave the two on their own. But, there was a problem with that. Hana seemed to share some of her brother's "luck." She was bound to pull trouble her way, even if it was unintentional.

Yoruichi leads the two to a place where soul reapers seemed the sparsest, making sure to do his best to avoid any confrontation for now.

Angel was mildly panicking. She didn't expect them all to be separated like that and it made her worry. She was under the impression that they would be together the entire time, fighting alongside Ichigo when he needed it.

For the first time since their infiltration of the seireitei, Angel spoke. "I hope everyone is okay..." She mumbled.

Hana stopped walking for a moment to hug Angel. "I'm sure they are." She smiled. "You know we always seem to come out of things alright, even if we get a little beat up."

Angel only nodded as a response while she hugged Hana back.

With that settled for the moment, Hana turned her attention to Yoruichi. "What do we do now? Should we try to find the others?" She asked.

Yoruichi groomed his head with his paw before answering her. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. Knowing Ichigo, he'll run into the absolute worst possible opponents. If he doesn't decide to seek them out himself."

Hana sighed a bit, not denying the statement. Ichigo had some kind of luck that always seemed to work that way, and he was as stubborn as could be.

"For now, you two need to do your best to avoid soul reapers. If you do come across any, Angel you have to wear your hood." Yoruichi warned.

Both Hana and Angel nodded their heads.

Angel didn't understand why she needed to cover her hair but didn't question the cat. He seemed to know much more than anyone would expect a talking cat to know. Then again, how would a cat gain the ability to talk if it didn't know at least a few things?

"Already fighting..." Yoruichi sighed, feeling a burst of spiritual pressure. He looked at his two wards as he thought to himself. He needed to get better bearings on the location and wellbeing of the others. He needed to know exactly when he would be needed to intervene. But, if Hana and Angel just stayed in one spot, it was inevitable that they would be found.

Moving around was a problem too. If they happened to take a wrong turn or if luck just wasn't on their sides then they would get into trouble. Depending on who they potentially ran into it could be disastrous.

Angel was beginning to calm down a little now so Hana stopped hugging her, instead she was now holding her hand as reassurance that she was there and they were still together. A small smile turned up her lips as she tried to stay calm and confident for the both of them. If Hana were to freak out, then Angel would be worse.

Yoruichi fixed the two with a hard stare. "Listen to me, I need to find the others. I can't bring you two with me because that would make it harder for me to get around unnoticed. You two can't just stay here though, try to move and stay out of sight." He told them. "If you happen to come across soul reapers, try to run before trying to fight."

Hana gave a nod in response. "What about finding Rukia?" She questioned.

"For now, worry about yourselves. When it comes down to it, you'll know what to do." Yoruichi answered her. He stood and looked around to make sure no one else was coming before heading out.

Hana steeled herself against the anxiety that built knowing that they were now alone and focused on helping hide Angel's hair, making sure that it wouldn't slip out of the hood of the younger girl's sweatshirt. Her hands placed themselves reassuringly on Angel's shoulders before she too did a scan of their location.

The coast was still clear and the girls headed out. Both remained on high alert, keeping an eye out for any soul reapers. They would nervously hesitate at any intersection or alley they came across, not sure what directions to avoid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akari watched the projectile split apart and scanned over each section.

Which one was Angel in?

She had to find her before anyone else did. She couldn't risk Him knowing that she was here. Not only would Akari suffer for that, so would Angel.

Her hood, which had been pulled down so that it didn't obscure her vision, was pulled back over her head as she quickly decided to check out the nearest location. She did get stopped by another soul reaper, no one she recognized though. They questioned if she knew anything along with the usual questions about her squad number, captain, and what business she was currently on.

Due to her previously being a soul reaper and keeping her old uniform, she was able to answer them convincingly enough that they left her alone. She didn't even need to show the insignia that was located on the inside of her uniform to prove she was from the squad she said she was. She couldn't blame the soul reaper for that though, everything was hectic at the moment and they seemed to want to move as quickly as they could.

She kept her responses curt but still cooperative, trying to keep a friendly tone to her while making sure that she still seemed nervous like the other. The reason for this being that even if soul reapers that had never met her knew of her, they would mainly know of her perceived attitude toward other soul reapers. This made her be warry of using her old mannerisms when interacting with them.

After a short bit, she had a new thought. Even if Angel was spotted she could keep Him from hearing about her being there by spreading that she herself was here. Any instance of a red-headed woman being spotted would be attributed to her.

She looked at yet another soul reaper that had stopped her, this one deciding to take out their stress by confiding in her, a total stranger to them. This would be the perfect chance to start.

Akari took a breath, starting to slip back into her old persona. She cut off the soul reaper as he was talking about how stupid the intruders must be to try an attack on the seireitei. "Tell me something, do rumors of the Red Demon still go around?" She questioned, her friendly tone being replaced by annoyance and smugness.

The soul reaper was shocked at the interruption and change of attitude so it took him a minute to process the question before he responded. "Oh uh... Yeah, we still hear about her now and again..." He trailed off. The change of topic confused him. Stories of the Red Demon hadn't been told for a while, only to have resurfaced once it was said that her spiritual pressure had been noticed within the seireitei. That didn't make this particular question so odd, it was how the woman asked it that did.

Akari smirked, her posture changed from that of a well-trained soldier to that of a stuck up heiress who didn't think she had to listen to a thing from another person. She easily slipped back into her old ways.

Her hand shot out and grabbed the front of the other soul reaper's uniform as she dragged him closer to her. "Oh, how wonderful. How would everyone feel if they knew you just met her?" Her voice changed to a snarl, making sure she showed hostility toward him.

The soul reaper slapped her hand away and took a step back before glaring at the woman in front of him. He could see her red eyes through the shadow of her hood and how they seemed to belittle him, but he didn't fear it. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He straightened his uniform. "Dumb bitch, The Red Demon is dead. If you're trying to play a prank then you picked a horrible time to do it." He snapped.

Akari clicked her tongue, pulling her hood down and flipping her hair so that it was on display in its usual style. "The death was a hoax, dumbass." She snapped back, her eyes narrowing more into an icy glare. Her hand placed itself on the hilt of her sword before slowly drawing it, the sound of the metal leaving the sheath meant to be threatening toward the man in front of her. She held the blade loosely, turning it over in her hands but not attacking. "I never died, and I'm back." The glare stayed in her eyes and her lips curled into a cruel smile.

The soul reaper attacked first after the initial shock. He didn't know if she was telling the truth but she certainly seemed to make herself a threat.

Akari blocked his attack, the cruel smile still on her face. Despite how she looked and acted at the moment, she had no intention of actually harming the man. She just intended to render him unconscious and draw attention to the scene.

Akari blocked most blows that came for her, dodging the rest while laughing wildly. "You think you can hurt me?" She taunted.

The man attacked again, this one being a close call. It caught the hood she had been using as a disguise. This seemed to make him a bit more confident about attacking.

Akari figured it was a good time to end this. "Playing is no fun when you take it too seriously..." She muttered and flash stepped behind her opponent. Before he could react, she slammed the end of her hilt into the base of his skull. Her eyes followed his form as he fell to the ground and she sighed. "Hopefully he remembers... But in case he doesn't..."

She placed her hand on the ground and focused her spiritual pressure through it causing the ground around her hand to turn black. Once it left a sure impression of a handprint, she pulled her hand away.

If there was a chance that the soul reaper wouldn't remember her, then she'd just be sure to leave enough evidence that it couldn't be disputed who he fought.

After a second thought, she flipped her hair again before glancing around. There weren't any soul reapers close enough that they would get here before she could make a getaway. She let her spiritual pressure flare, though not to the same extent as she had when she did it in defiance of Him, before hiding it once again and flash stepping away.

It didn't take long for soul reapers to converge on Akari's previous location. Among them was the young captain.

He was more than familiar with that spiritual pressure.

The unconscious soul reaper awoke shortly after the other soul reapers appeared, though the captain was busy examining the handprint surrounded by scorch marks. He placed his own hand in the print, comparing it to his previous memories before approaching the soul reaper.

"What happened here?" His voice was stern and left no room for the soul reaper to deny him his answer. His eyes narrowed in a glare.

The soul reaper flinched slightly, something about the captain triggering the same emotions he'd felt when meeting the so-called Red Demon's glare. They seemed almost similar. "It's a bit fuzzy, Sir." He gulped, trying to regain any sense of courage he'd had before. "I was talking to another soul reaper and then she just snapped." His hand reached up and gingerly touched the spot she'd hit him.

This wasn't enough information. The captain wanted, no, he needed more information about this attack. "Do you remember anything she might have said?" He questioned.

The soul reaper winced again, though now in pain as he tried to recall what had happened. "She asked if rumors still went around about the Red Demon... Then she said she was her." He finally managed to recall after a moment.

The captain's already stern face began to morph into anger, though it didn't seem that the underlings noticed.

"But that's not possible, right?" The soul reaper questioned.

The captain didn't give him an answer. Instead, he looked back to the handprint a few feet away before giving the others an order to take the injured man to the infirmary.

This was frustrating. At first, when the first blast of familiar spiritual pressure had appeared, it was easy to believe that it was some sort of trick. But, that handprint seemed to match up to what he remembered.

He wandered the area for a while, looking for more answers. His mind running wild as he tried to piece everything together and he fought the force that wanted to pull him into his memories.

He began to wonder, why would she do this?

Then another idea formed in his mind, one that was unwelcome. What if it wasn't Kuski that was behind the disappearances of his friends? What if Akari was the mastermind behind it all?

The thought mildly horrified him. He wanted desperately for that thought to go away before it cemented itself there, unable to be removed and tainting the memories of his past.

There was one thing that he was sure about though, everyone would need to be on the lookout for the Red Demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, not another one but hey here I am. To me, this is getting a bit more exciting and I know I'm kind of jumping from one thing to another but I kind of like how it's working out.
> 
> I hope that you're enjoying the story!


	42. The Demon Comes to the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hana and Angel get into a little bit of trouble.   
> Originally typed in October 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: chapter contains depictions of violence.

The first of the intruding group that Akari found was the orange-haired boy. He was deep in a battle with a bald soul reaper. Both had cuts on their heads and the soul reaper had activated his zanpakutou's second form. This soul reaper wasn't one that Akari knew, if he had been around during the same time as her then she never met him. Because of this, she had no knowledge of his abilities. She silently wished the orange-haired boy luck before continuing on.

The boy was not who she needed to find, and it didn't seem that Angel was anywhere near him.

The next of the group she found was an orange-haired girl, though not the same one that she had seen with the boy and Rukia before. The Quincy boy was with her. They weren't in battle at the moment but there was a soul reaper nearby scouting them out.

With a sigh, Akari left that location as well. She was already beginning to get frustrated with the situation and took it out on a few more soul reapers. They didn't deserve it, but it solidified the fact that the Red Demon was currently within the seireitei. She felt a bit guilty about it but pushed the emotion down, locking it away just like she had in the past.

Eventually, she spotted another head of orange hair. She kept her distance while she tried to determine if the one she was looking for was here or if she would need to keep looking.

The two girls, Hana and Angel, had managed to draw the attention of a small group of soul reapers. They didn't look to be very strong and surely they weren't seated officers, but Akari knew that appearances could be deceiving. If she hadn't learned that from the school she'd been trapped in or from the strength of her own son, she'd learned it from _Him_.

Hana drew Belladonna once she came to the conclusion that this group couldn't be lost simply by running. She was trying to think of a way to fight without hurting anyone. She wasn't sure she wanted to be the cause of any serious injuries but if she didn't act soon then it was likely that not only she, but Angel as well would be injured or captured. She may not have a choice.

Angel braced herself to fight as well once she noticed Hana's move. Her shadow shifted slightly beneath her feet without her or their pursuers really noticing. It was ready to fight too, ready to compensate if it was needed. Angel was nervous, but this was a situation that she had been training for. She had trained alongside Hana to fight, even if she didn't like the idea either.

The group of soul reapers advanced, Han,a ducked under one blade and blocked another with her own. She pushed the soul reaper whose sword had collided with her own back as far as she could before she had to counter another attack. She'd focused so much on using her power to incapacitate and not so much on learning to truly fight with her blade. Though she was much better than when she first started, she didn't know if she was good enough to get through this situation.

Angel didn't react to the attacks quite fast enough, but her shadow kept the incoming slice from hurting her. Once she recovered from her shock, she attacked back. She blinded one attacker with a flash of light and kicked their feet out from under them. Her body starting to react to the fight on its own once she allowed it to.

Hana grabbed Angel and pulled her back away from the attackers, putting space between them. "Hold your breath!" She warned and sliced the ground with Belladonna. "Sleep, poppy!" She chanted.

Angel did as told and held her breath as the red flowers sprung up around them. They weren't packed together or over the largest distance but hopefully it would be enough to affect the others.

The soul reapers felt their eyes become heavy but fought through it. One attacked again, going for Hana since she had been the one to cause the flowers. This forced her to lose focus and her flowers wilted.

That was one thing she hadn't been able to work around yet, she still needed to keep her focus entirely on her flowers in order to keep them from wilting and it was a bit of a problem.

The girls had ended up separated by a few feet after the attack and tried to brace themselves again.

Hana glared a little, though not harsh it was angry. "We don't want to hurt you!" She cried out. "We just want to help our friend!" She managed to knock the sword out of one soul reaper's hands when they went to attack her again.

The disarmed soul reaper prepared to fire a kido at Hana but Angel noticed this and countered with one that she had learned during her training. It was strong enough to dispel their attack and knock them back without harming them too much.

The group went to advance on Hana and Angel again, but a figure blocked their path with their sword drawn and ready to attack. Instead of a cruel smile, they held a mean snarl directed at the soul reapers.

"Get back." Akari snarled. Her tone held a threat and her eyes that icy glare once again. In contrast to the glare, heat seemed to radiate off of her body.

A few members of the group took a step back in shock. "Wait... Could that be...?" One trailed off.

Akari's smile turned into a smirk, it was already getting around that she was back and that made this easier. "Oh, have you heard of the Red Demon?" She teased a slight coo to her voice for only that moment. The next words she spoke lacked the teasing tone and only contained a threat. "Lay a hand on these two and you'll find out exactly why I got that name."

Most of the offending soul reapers backed down, but one refused to. They refused to believe that the woman was really as dangerous as she was made out to be. They met her with a glare of their own. "Then attack!" They snapped.

Akari stared them down, not really wanting to fight them at this point. She just wanted to get Angel, and by extension Hana, to safety. "Fine..." She deadpanned. "Ethne, burn."

She swung the blade in an arc, flames following the motion, and projecting toward the soul reaper as the concealed her movements as well. She flash stepped and slammed her sword into their gut and then grabbed the back of their neck to hold them in place as the tip of the blade pointed at their neck.

Akari's cruel smile came back as she looked at the fearful eyes of the soul reaper. "You wanted me to attack." She cooed.

Angel and Hana were stunned. The woman seemed to be protecting them despite being dressed the same as the soul reaper. This random soul reaper was protecting them.

Akari glance over at the girls, her eyes no longer holding the icy glare but instead a bored look. "Hey Orangie," she called out Hana, "got a way to knock them out?" She questioned.

Hana chewed on her lip, not sure whether or not to answer her but ultimately decided to. "Y-yeah..." She once again grew poppies and due to being allowed to focus, it worked.

The group that had refused to move and leave the stubborn soul reaper behind fell asleep.

Akari fought back the effects, using her spiritual pressure to heat the air around her and hopefully keep it from affecting her too much. She fought back a yawn and once the others were down she stretched. "Alright, we need to get out of here." She told Hana and Angel. She made a weak "follow me" gesture with her hand.

They did follow, though a bit hesitantly. They weren't entirely sure if they could trust her, but at the moment she seemed willing to help them.

Angel looked at the woman in front of them, her eyes lingering on her hair. Something pulled in the back of her mind but nothing seemed to come of it. "Who are you?" She asked.

Akari took a breath, pushing down the sadness that the single question brought before answering. "I'm Akari, care to give me your names?" Her voice was calmer and gentler now. Her eyes no longer holding boredom or being forced into a glare. Instead, a slight glimmer of sadness could be seen there.

Angel relaxed, something in her mind telling her that she could trust this woman. "I'm Angel." She said quietly.

Hana was a bit more untrusting but found this odd. Angel almost immediately seemed to trust her. This woman also had red hair, even if it had more of a shimmer of orange and yellow to it if it caught the light. Hana wondered for a minute if this woman could be related to Angel. "I'm Hana..." She finally answered.

Akari nodded in approval at being told their names and led them to one of her hiding spots. "You aren't hurt, are you?" She asked.

Hana had a few scratches and bruises but was otherwise fine. "I'm not hurt, what about you Angel?"

Angel smiled a little bit. "I'm fine. These shadows sure are helpful."

Akari's brow furrowed a bit at the mention of shadows, but she said nothing about it.

Hana turned her attention away from Angel and back to the woman who was now leaning against a wall. "Why did you help us?" She asked.

Akari sighed and slid down the wall so that she was sitting. "You're helping your friend, right?" She answered with a question.

Angel nodded her head, a frown coming across her face. "Yeah, if we don't save her then she'll be killed."

"That's true... The girl doesn't deserve to die..." Akari seemed to be staring at nothing. "But, you two running around like that is going to bring you trouble." She ran her fingers through her hair.

Hana observed the woman, she seemed troubled. "Those soul reapers... You said something about being a "Red Demon" or something." She changed the subject, trying to see what information she could get out of the woman.

"Yeah..." The woman laughed lightly. "It's kind of dumb, just a nickname I got when I was younger. Guess my hair had something to do with it." Though she had laughed, she didn't look happy.

Angel looked at the woman's hair and found herself smiling. "Your hair is kind of like mine." She pointed out what Hana had already noticed.

Akari's small smile didn't reach her eyes. "I suppose so."

Hana noticed the smile but wasn't sure what to say about that. She changed the subject yet again. "So, you're going to help us save Rukia?" She questioned.

Akari's smile dropped and she sighed. "I can't... You see..." She trailed off, trying to think of how to explain her situation to Hana and Angel. "I'm currently under the control of someone who... well, they're not that great." She told them.

Hana became a bit more suspicious at that. "Then why help us?" She asked she braced herself to be ready to run at any second if it was needed.

Akari didn't meet her eyes and still stared at nothing. "To keep you away from the one who's controlling me." Her voice wavered slightly. "He's a horrible man." She sighed again. "Just try to relax and rest a bit for now..." She told them.

Hana and Angel were both tired, but couldn't relax very easily right now.

Akari kept watch, looking at the entrance to her hiding spot, even though it hadn't been located before. Everyone was more alert now than usual and that could be a problem for her.


	43. Be Careful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akari gives Angel a warning.  
> Chapter originally typed in October 2019

Another meeting had been called. The lieutenants once again gathered together, the air around each of them tense due to the situation.

The lieutenant of the first squad started reading off the announcements that he had for the others. "From the 11th division, Ikkaku Madarame, third seat, and fifth seat Yumichkia Ayasegame. The above seated officers have left the front lines due to severe injuries. Each division is reporting minor injuries. However, the 11th division was reported to have been completely wiped out." He announced.

Shocked murmurs sounded throughout the group.

The one giving the announcements ignored this and continued. "There are confirmations from witnesses that two of the ryouka kidnapped a member of the fourth division and are moving toward the center of the city."

Again the man waited for the murmuring to stop before continuing again. "Furthermore, one of the intruders has been confirmed to be the soul reaper, Akari Ren. She has been spotted by multiple witnesses, many of which had been attacked by her."

Momo's eyes widened, a mix of dread and relief washing over her. Akari was alive and she was back, but she was one of the intruders. She wanted to rush out and find the woman herself, just to see her again, but she stayed put.

The man standing next to her didn't seem to have the same feeling and had already left. Momo worried about this but waited to leave the meeting until she was dismissed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana was still a bit suspicious of Akari. The woman had admitted that someone was controlling her and that the person in question was bad. Yet Akari was hiding them.

Hana opened her eyes and looked at the woman. She was slightly surprised to find her still there, fondly running her fingers through Angel's hair as the girl slept beside her.

Akari hadn't noticed that Hana was awake. She was finally with one of her children, even if Angel didn't remember anything about her. She was taking the moment to try and relive even a small amount of her past.

A soft mumble brought her back to the present.

Angel looked up at the woman who stared back for a minute before pulling her hand away.

"Sorry..." Akari apologized, now frowning.

Angel noticed this. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Akari didn't look at her. "You remind me of someone is all." She sighed. "You look a lot like someone who lived here..."

Hana and Angel looked at each other.

"Is that why she needs to cover her hair?" Hana was the first to respond.

Akari nodded. "Anyway, I think I know a way to help you." She changed the subject and looked back up at them. "I am supposed to cause chaos, you need to help your friends. We take out enough soul reapers then there are less to stop your friends." She explained.

Hana was still skeptical. "You don't mean kill them, do you?"

"No, no, no. Just injure them enough that they can't fight anymore." Akari clarified.

"That's still bad!" Angel scolded.

Akari sighed a bit. "Then what do you think you should do?"

Hana thought for a minute. "Find our friends, they likely need us. And even if they don't, they're probably a bit concerned about us."

"Well," Akari started, "I can't exactly stop you. Just do me a favor."

"What favor is that?" Angel asked.

Akari's eyes met Angel's. "Avoid the captains. There are two, in particular, that would be the worst for you to run into."

"Explain more, please." Hana requested.

The older woman nodded. "Captains are powerful, dangerously so, but the two who would cause you the most trouble are the captains of the fifth and tenth squads. The captain of the fifth squad is a tall man with dark hair and glasses. He's probably the worst person you could run into here." She found herself feeling nervous over this. Her hands already shaking slightly at the thought, she hid this by running them through her hair. "The tenth squad captain, he might not actually be dangerous to you, but he will get you confused for someone else. If you run into him, he will follow you at any cost trying to get you to speak to him. He's the youngest of them and has white hair." She held her hands up to her hair, acting like she was spiking it up.

The nervous look dropped along with her hands which were now placed in her lap. She looked sad once again. "Actually... If I could request one more thing from you..." Her sad smile was back.

Hana and Angel couldn't help but wonder what made her look like that.

"What is it?" Angel asked.

Akari didn't answer for a second, biting her lip to keep it from shaking. "If, by chance, you can't avoid the white-haired captain... Or meet a brown-eyed, brown-haired girl named Momo... Could you tell them..." She bit her lip again, trying to fight back her emotions.

This would be a horrible way to tell them this, but she couldn't see herself facing the two herself after everything that had happened.

"Please tell them... That their mother loves them..."

Hana's eyes widened a bit. "You're a captain's mother?" She tried to keep from sounding too shocked.

Akari nodded, not speaking or looking up.

Angel frowned. "Why don't you tell them yourself?" She questioned.

Hana couldn't deny that she was wondering the same thing.

"I've been away for a long time, and I've done bad things... I don't think I can handle facing them again..." Her voice wavered once more despite her trying to hold it back. "And my son... He wouldn't let me speak if I did meet him... He gets angry when he's confused." She tried to explain.

Angel grabbed Akari's hand. "If we see them, we'll tell them. But, it would mean more coming from you. You should tell them." She reasoned.

Akari smiled once again, still a sad smile. "I'll try..." She took a deep breath and changed the subject. "If you want to help your friends then you should go." She pulled Angel's hood over her hair and met her eyes. "Be careful." She warned.

Hana and Angel nodded before getting up to leave. Angel, looked back at Akari for a second before they left the hideout.

Akari stayed put, regretting that she couldn't find it in herself to tell Angel everything.


	44. Kuro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been mentioned before what happened to poor Kuro, now you get more details on the incident.   
> Originally typed in October 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: chapter contains depictions of violence, death, grief, and transformation against one's will

Momo hadn't had the chance to look for Akari. It seemed like every time she was ready to go, something stopped her. Once again she had been stopped, only this reason left her horrified.

Renji had gone missing earlier and now had been found. He was injured badly and unconscious.

"How can this be...?!" She cried.

Another lieutenant, this one blond, stood nearby. "When I found him, he was already like this..." He said dejectedly. "If I had found him earlier then I could have joined the battle.

Momo fought back tears. "It's okay... This..." She had to be strong. She fought harder against her emotions. "Anyways, hurry up and contact the fourth division and ask for a higher official's assistance." She recommended.

"There's no need." A voice spoke up behind her. Captained Kuchiki towered over the lieutenant. "Throw him in jail." He ordered.

"Captain Kuchiki!" The two lower seats gasped.

Momo recovered from her shock quickly, concerned about her injured friend. "N-no..." She defied. "Renji faced the intruders alone... and now you..."

The captain cut her off. "I don't want any excuses." He started walking away. "Since he was fighting alone, there's no reason that he should have lost. I don't want an idiot that can't even understand this. He's just getting in the way, hurry and move him somewhere else." He ordered once again.

Momo was appalled, how could he not care that Renji was badly hurt? "Please..." She mumbled, anger slowly building up in her. "Please wait! How can you say that?"

The blond lieutenant put a hand on her shoulder, ready to make up for her mouthing a superior, "Never mind!"

"But Izuru..." Momo tried to argue.

The captain looked back at the two, unamused. Izuru immediately bowed but Momo wasn't so quick to react.

After a moment she lowered her head. "I'm very sorry..." She apologized.

The captain didn't say anything, simply walking away and leaving the two.

Izuru glanced at Momo. She wasn't usually so argumentative, but he wondered if it was an effect of hearing that Akari had returned. He'd seen that woman mouth off to nearly anyone who tried to give her orders. Perhaps she had influenced Momo with that and that influence was just now starting to show.

"Oh, so scary!" Someone from the corner spoke up.

Izuru noticed his captain and smiled. "Captain Ichimaru!" He greeted.

Momo wasn't as happy with the appearance of yet another captain.

The silver-haired man smiled still. "He actually said those words. The sixth division captain is as scary as usual." He waved his hand to calm the two. "Don't worry! I can help you contact the fourth division. Come with me, Izuru." He called and started leaving.

Izuru obediently followed him, leaving Momo and Renji behind.

After a second the girl seemed to realize that she hadn't said anything and bowed. "Sorry to trouble you!" She called after the two. When she stood straight again, she frowned.

When she was younger, she wanted to believe that captains knew what was best, but words from the past echoed in her mind.

_Eh, captains aren't all that great. They all think they know everything. They're honestly kind of pricks._

"How did Renji get beaten up so bad?!" Someone behind her spoke loudly, purposely breaking her train of thought.

Momo squealed in surprise. "Toshiro!" She snapped.

Toshiro looked at her unamused, but secretly happy to be able to get that reaction. "Hey, I'm already a captain! You shouldn't address me like that." He reminded her.

Momo flailed her arms. "Be quiet! How come all the captains don't make any sound when they walk?!" She finally calmed down after getting that out. "By the way, Toshiro, why are you here?" She asked.

The boy was silent for a second. "I'm here to give you some advice. You have to watch out for the third division." He advised.

This just confused Momo. "The third division? You mean Izuru? Why?" She asked.

"I'm talking about Ichimaru, but beware of Izuru as well. Anyway, it's not gonna hurt you to keep an eye on them." Toshiro told her.

He didn't want to run the risk of losing her like he seemed to lose everyone else.

Momo didn't know what to say to the warning, but she did have something that she wanted to talk to him about. "Toshiro..." She mumbled. "Have they told you about... about Mom?" She asked.

Toshiro closed his eyes, keeping his arms crossed. "You mean that she's not dead? That she's one of the intruders?" He asked.

Momo nodded her head. "I've been meaning to go out and try to find her, but I keep getting stopped. Do you think it's really her?"

Toshiro sighed a bit, "If it's a hoax then it's a good one. I went to the location of her first sighting. She left a handprint." He told her.

"Why do you think she hasn't come to see us then?" The slightly older girl asked.

Toshiro's eyes opened, glaring at the wall across from him. "Why would you want her to?" There was a slight growl to his voice. "She's been gone all of this time. She wasn't there when we needed her. Where was she when Angel disappeared? Where was she when Kuro died?!" His tone steadily became angrier.

Momo's mood dropped further at the mention of Kuro.

Toshiro noticed this and his expression softened a bit as he looked at her. "Momo... She left us..." He told her.

"I know... But there must be a reason why she left. She loves us." Momo tried to tell him, tried to reason with him.

Toshiro sighed and went to leave. "Don't get into trouble." He warned her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That day was dark for Momo, Toshiro, and Angel. The week leading up to it hadn't been great either.

Contact with Kuro had been lost while he was on a routine patrol. He hadn't resurfaced and no one could track him down.

Akari's family group worried and Kuski did his best to keep their spirits up, but he wasn't sure that the boy would show up and be well. He kept that to himself as the week passed with no sign of the brown-haired boy.

Chaos erupted within the seireitei a few days after a week had passed. A hollow had appeared within the seireitei itself and was stronger than many were used to facing.

During the fight, Momo had attacked, though the hollow dodged. Its dodge saved it from a fatal blow but broke through some of the mask, revealing an eye that carried a familiar blue color.

Momo froze, "Kuro?" She uttered.

Familiarity flashed through the hollow's eyes and it stopped attacking for a minute. It didn't take long for it to revert back to feral mode though. It went after Momo, but now she couldn't find it in her to attack it.

How could this have happened? Why was Kuro like this?

Tears formed in her eyes as a blue scaled arm reached out for her. Before it could touch her, someone's blade cut through it.

The hollow screeched and pulled back to examine its new adversary.

The white-haired boy who had intervened snarled at the being in front of him while a red-headed girl helped make sure that Momo wasn't harmed.

"Why weren't you attacking it?!" Toshiro snapped.

Momo pulled his shoulder back. "It's Kuro!" Was her answer.

The other two's eyes widened.

"What?" Angel gaped at the hollow, which hadn't moved since it pulled back.

Even Toshiro hesitated. This hollow, was his brother?

The hollow began to shake violently, holding itself back. Its clawed hands raised up and began digging at its own mask. When the mask was ripped apart, Kuro stared at his frozen family. "Toshiro... Listen..." Kuro's voice was still distorted like a hollow's. He seemed to be fighting just to speak. "Y-you can't trust... Can't t-trust A-A..." His words devolved into a roar as the mask overtook him again.

"Kuro!" The three shouted in concern. What was he trying to say?

Toshiro gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, the texture biting into his hands as he went to attack the hollow. It may have once been Kuro, but now it was a hollow. A monster that would kill all three of them without remorse and then move on to go after others.

"No, stop!!" Momo screeched. She didn't want to lose anyone else.

Angel hugged her tightly and closed her eyes as Toshiro cut down the hollow.

All three stared at the hollow's body as it slowly started to disintegrate. The two girls let tears roll down their cheeks while Toshiro tried to hold his back.

He turned to them but refused to meet their eyes. He did his best to usher them away and get them to report the incident.

None of them noticed how slowly the body was disappearing, or that the hollow body left behind the original body once it finally vanished.

One captain had, and he took advantage of the situation for research purposes.


	45. Break Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Garbage boss is at it again, Momo is still trying to deal with the stress of everything that is happening.   
> Originally typed in October 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains mentions of death, anxiety, stress, and manipulation

As the day went on, Momo seemed to have a harder time. She was fairly okay at repressing her emotions, but they were still there and they were eating at her. The only person she ever really confided in anymore was her captain.

Her captain had saved her life. Her captain had been there when Akari disappeared. He had been there for her when Kuro died as well, comforting her as she told him everything she felt about the situation. She had once confided in Kuro, but he was gone. Confiding in Toshiro wasn't an option at this point either. He always seemed to get angry and shut her out when she brought up the past, just like he had when she brought up Akari being in the seireitei now.

Being told that the seireitei was now under wartime orders and that all seated officers were to keep their zanpakutous on them at all times didn't help the situation. It made her more anxious if anything.

Sure she was a trained warrior, but she wanted to avoid fighting if possible. She wanted to protect what was left of her family, even if that one person left was stronger than her.

Her heart broke more at the thought that her own mother was around, though causing chaos and not bothering to stop and visit the ones she had left behind.

This all weighed heavily on her heart as she prepared for bed. Eventually, she found it impossible to sleep. She briefly thought of going to Toshiro for comfort, but he was terrible at comforting others. He would be no help to her right now.

There was only one person she could think of to help soothe her mind, he captain. She made up her mind and headed to her captain's quarters. She stood outside of his door hesitantly, wondering if she should knock or go back to her own room and attempt to fall asleep.

Her decision was made for her when her captain spoke. "Do you need something, Momo?"

She finally opened the door. "S-sorry..." She mumbled. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She fidgeted a bit nervously. "I... I know it's wrong to be bothering you this late at night but..." She bowed her head, frustration finally coming to the surface. "I can't sleep! I'm always screwing up in front of the captains."

To calm her, Souske placed the outer layer of his own yukata over her shoulders. "Did you think that I would dismiss you for something like that? Is that the image I project to others during the day?" He asked calmly. "Come in, you've had a rough day."

Souske's lieutenant stared up at him, nearly in awe of his kindness. Though she had experienced his kindness before, it always amazed her.

"You can stay for as long as you need." He told her.

Momo made herself comfortable while the captain resumed what he had been doing before.

"I heard that Renji is safe." He started.

Momo let out a small sigh of relief, the small weight of that falling off her shoulders. "Really? That's a relief..."

Her captain smiled. "Captain Kuchiki wanted to demote him but others argued against it. So when he is healed, he will be able to return to his position."

"Were you the one defending him, Captain Aizen?" Momo asked, more confident in speaking at the moment.

Souske turned to her with a smile. "I wasn't the only one. He is talented and everyone likes him." He said happily. "No one would be happy if he got demoted."

Momo felt herself relaxing more, a smile came to her face. She was happy that she came to him.

However, another topic came to mind. "Um... Captain..." She muttered. "What about Akari?" She asked.

The gentle smile dropped from his face. "Ah, I was wondering if you would bring that up." He sighed a bit. "It seems as if she may have tricked me back then." His voice held regret. "She was a well-known troublemaker, after all." He told her.

Momo hugged her knees. "Why would she fake her death? Why wouldn't she come back?"

Another sigh left the captain. "There's no telling, but it was well known that she had a problem with authority. Maybe she got tired of it and decided to act." He suggested.

"Maybe..." Momo mumbled.

Souske went to pat her head. "I promise that I will find out for you." He said.

Momo smiled warmly. "Oh thank you, Captain Aizen." She thanked him. Her mind now enough at ease that she felt tired and she soon fell asleep.

The captain finished what he was working on and changed into his uniform. Without a second glance back at his sleeping lieutenant, he left his quarters.

He half expected a confrontation, but it didn't happen and it made him wonder what would keep that woman from wanting to confront him as he expected.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After separating from Angel and Hana, Akari took a risk and moved deeper into the seireitei. Her torn hood was once again pulled up to hide who she really was. She wondered if it would be easier to try and darken her hair with soot or something.

She stayed on a roof that looked down at the surprisingly empty streets below before something caught her eye. A body, suspended from the wall by the person's own blade, high up off of the ground. Her eyes narrowed and she crouched low to the roof.

"What are you trying to do here...?" She mumbled to herself.

A horrified scream nearly made her jump out of her skin and she flattened herself further in fear of getting caught. She double-checked to make sure that her spiritual pressure was still severely repressed.

That voice was too familiar to her and her heart broke at the sound. Of course, sweet little Momo would be the first person upon this unfortunate scene.

Akari needed to get out of there, fast. But with Momo screaming like that, others were bound to be rushing to the location. Getting caught rushing away would be more suspicious than getting caught standing around.

If another soul reaper discovered her around her and didn't recognize her, then she could pass herself off as having been drawn here by the scream.

But she couldn't stand to know Momo was so hurt and not be able to help.

She glanced behind her, seeing no approaching soul reapers on the street. She flash stepped away and her heart broke a little bit more.

Akari wasn't stupid, the main suspects would be the intruders, and she was one of them. She was the one who would appear to have the most motive for harming a captain like this. She rarely referred to a captain by their title and would mouth off whenever she was given an order, oftentimes putting it off until the last second. There was also the fact that her faked death had occurred when she had gone on a mission with the captain currently hanging from the wall.

But she had never physically lashed out at a captain. She knew better than to do that.

Panic bloomed in her chest and she rushed to the meeting place that _He_ had given her. He had made her a secret way into the building.

Akari made her way in, doing her best to ignore the smell of death as she pushed on deeper into the building.

 _He_ was not there, but instead of leaving she paced. Her fingers clutched at her hair in a panic, tousling it out of place as she thought of what could happen.

 _He_ arrived a few minutes after her, though he didn't announce himself. He was enjoying watching her panic. "I was wondering when you would come to me." He finally spoke.

Akari jumped, nearly swinging her sword at him. She managed to control that impulse but didn't calm down. "What the hell are you trying to do here?!" She snapped. "You know they're going to suspect that I did that!!"

He chuckled. "My, you're all worked up." He spoke to her as if she was a child. "You've been doing well, I didn't expect you to reveal your identity right away though."

She hated this. He wasn't acknowledging what she was trying to say. "Dammit! That's not what I was talking about!" She shouted.

He glared at her, but she didn't back down. "It's easier to be apart from them when you're sure that they hate you, isn't it?" He questioned.

"But it didn't have to be like this!" She still didn't calm.

He grabbed the belligerent woman and pulled her close to him, making her freeze. "It was essential to my plan and this was the perfect time to act. If the suspicion falls on you then it's only because you've done such a good job at causing trouble." His smirk widened as he felt the woman tense because of him.

When he released her, her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. Still, she fixed him with the harshest glare he'd seen her give since he hollowfied the boy.

"Don't get caught now, if you do, you'll have to confess to murdering a captain. You'll have to confess directly to your precious children's faces. Could you handle looking that poor girl in the eyes and telling her that you killed her precious captain in cold blood?" He taunted her.

Akari's body shook in a mix of panic, sadness, and rage. "I hate you..." She snarled. "I have never once despised the existence of any being as much as I despise you!"

He just smirked. This was perfect, she'd been more defiant and had more spirit in her recently and he was having fun breaking her down again. If he kept this up, then maybe he could finally permanently break her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear that this whole arc just gets more angsty as I go through it. I so very much despise Garbage Boss... and I think that comes out in my writing.


	46. Chad!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad is back in the game!  
> Originally typed in October 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains canon typical violence.

Hana and Angel cautiously moved through the seireitei, trying to keep away from any soul reapers for the time being. They held hands in order to keep from being separated.

The wall a bit to the right of them suddenly seemed to explode, making them both yelp and get ready to run. But, the person who stepped through the new hole in the wall made them both smile brightly.

"Chad!" They cheered.

Angel ran over and hugged him tightly, he hugged back without a second thought.

Hana smiled and let herself relax. "You look like you've been doing well. I'm glad we found you." She laughed a bit. "Well rather, you found us."

Chad looked over both of them. They seemed to be doing well. Neither of them seemed injured too badly, a few bruises and scrapes were all that he could see.

"You're okay." He said softly.

Angel nodded and pulled down the mask that she used to hide her face. She hadn't actually used it much but after Akari's warning, she decided to. "Yeah, we're fine." She smiled brightly. "I was worried about you though."

Chad looked away from the two, almost as if he were ashamed. "I'm sorry. I should have grabbed onto you." He apologized.

Angel hugged him tighter. "It's okay, we're fine." She assured him.

Hana smiled at the two and then looked around, making sure that no one was drawn by the sound of the wall being broken.

Angel pulled away from the hug. "We were hoping to find someone familiar, and you found us." She laughed lightly.

Chad pats her head. "I did. We should keep moving and find the others." He told them.

The two girls nodded and followed him as he continued on. They didn't question where he was going, trusting his judgment.

Hana and Angel were both unprepared for Chad to rush headfirst into a battle with several soul reapers. They were sure that he could handle it but they were there to back him up. They took on any soul reaper that tried to go after them or behind Chad's back. As they fought they started to become more confident in doing so. Now being used to actually using what they had learned in battle rather than just in training situations.

Hana tried to focus harder and work her swordsmanship into fighting as well, apologizing to those she cut.

Angel's shadows would throw that soul reapers that went after her or she would use kido on them from afar, occasionally she would use her lights to blind her opponents as well.

Chad hit the last one, this one managing to remain conscious. He then picked the man up by his collar. "Where is the senzaikyuu?" He demanded.

The soul reaper seemed confused. "Senzaikyuu?"

"I asked that guy where Rukia Kuchiki is and that's all he said before fainting," Chad explained.

Hana and Angel stared at him. They hadn't thought to ask where to find Rukia, granted they weren't as confident in fighting as Chad was.

The soul reaper winced as Chad squeezed his head. "It... it's that white tower over there!" He pointed. "See it?"

Chad let him go and stood. "Thank you." He started walking away, the girls once again following him.

The soul reaper laughed. "Turning your back on your enemy? How foolish!" He attacked Chad. His blade did not slice through skin, instead, it bent.

Hana gasped, never having seen something like that before.

They left the soul reaper on the ground, running in the direction of the white tower that he had pointed to.

"That was really cool!" Hana praised Chad.

Angel nodded, just a bit behind them. "So we're going to find Rukia?" She asked.

Chad glanced at the two. "Yes, because Ichigo will be headed there." He answered.

"Well, I mean nothing will stop Ichigo from getting to her, so that's a pretty good way to find him," Hana admitted. She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of that before.

When the two girls started to fall behind more than usual, Chad stopped and let them climb onto his back.

"You sure we don't weigh too much together?" Hana asked she didn't really want to inconvenience Chad.

"This is fine, hold on." He warned them.

Hana and Angel did as told, holding onto his shoulders tightly as he ran and blasted through walls and groups of soul reapers.

Hana whistled, a bit impressed by it. "Wow..."

Chad didn't notice, he was looking down at his hand. The dark armor was still in place. Smoke rose from his palm, but he didn't seem to pay it much mind.

Angel noticed. "Are you alright to keep going? Do you need to stop and rest?" She worried.

Chad put his hand down and shook his head. "No, I'm fine to keep going." He assured her. Without another word, he continued on.

Hana and Angel glanced at the soul reapers on the ground, both hoping that they weren't hurt too badly.

"Hold it! This is the end of the line for you, foolish trespassers!" A large soul reaper stepped in front of them. "Because I, the third seat of the eighth division: Enjyouji Tatsuhusa am here!!"

The girls looked at the muscular man, worry making its way into their features. But, at the same time, confident that Chad could take this man down. If not just Chad, then all three of them working together.

Chad didn't let the two down as he stood tense, ready to strike.

"You picked the wrong path, foolish vagrants! Since the instant that I was stationed here, this path has become a dead-end for your kind!!" The man continued to spout off confidently. He then started moving his blade quickly, making it appear as if there were many blades.

A few onlookers seemed to be in awe of the attack, which didn't even seem to be aimed at the trio.

Chad didn't move and Hana and Angel still held onto his shoulders.

"Hey, what's wrong? Scared?" The man taunted. "That's okay since this great technique of mine has never lost to anything."

Chad's response was to punch the man in the face, sending him tumbling and through a short wall. "Sorry." He apologized, "there were too many openings."

The observing soul reapers screeched in shock while Hana and Angel cheered for Chad.

No matter how much they'd seen him do things like this in the past day, they were still amazed and proud of him.

"Wow~, not bad at all." Someone praised.

Flower petals seemed to fall from the sky. A soul reaper dressed in a pink, floral coat landed in front of the three shortly after the petals started falling. He stood with a gentle smile on his face as he looked at the stunned trio. "I am Shunsui Kyoraku, captain of the eighth division. Pleased to meet you." He seemed friendly, perhaps he would have been nice to get to know if they weren't intruders.

Angel tensed a bit, a captain. He wasn't one of the two that they had been warned about, but he was still a captain meaning that he was still dangerous.

"Captain of the eighth division..." Chad confirmed to himself.

The captain kept smiling and chuckled. "Yup, nice to meet you." His tone was still friendly.

Hana looked up to the woman who was throwing petals down once the captain looked up at her, she certainly didn't look amused.

"Hey, Nanao! You can stop throwing the petals now! Kyoraku called up at her. She didn't seem to listen and stared down at him, still dropping the petals. "Uh... Can you hear me, Nanao? Hey!! You can stop now!" She still didn't stop.

Nanao didn't take much of the captain's teasing and cooing before she dumped the entirety of the petals on his head.

Hana wasn't sure whether to laugh or still be worried that the man represented.

Angel was lost when it came to reacting to this, she didn't know how to. She was still more worried than anything else though.

Chad wasn't as amused as Hana though. He didn't really mind the man, but he had something to do and the man was in the way. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time for games. Please move aside." He requested.

Kyoraku lifted himself from under the petals, seemingly a bit disappointed. "Don't say that! What's wrong with staying with me? You sure are stoic..." He nearly whined.

Hana and Angel weren't sure whether or not to speak. What could they have to say to this man?

Instead, Chad spoke. "We're in a hurry, please move. You don't look like a bad guy, so if possible, I don't want to fight you." He explained.

The man smiled again, his eyes briefly scanning over the three. "How problematic! Neither of us wants to fight. However, I cannot let you pass. Would you please turn back?" He requested.

Chad tensed, ready to fight. Hana and Angel looked at each other, ready to let go of him. "I can't do that." Chad objected to the captain.

Kyoraku's eyes closed. "Oh? Then it can't be helped. All the other captains must have made their moves by now. This battle should be over soon."

Angel clenched her jaw, trying to stay quiet. High-level warriors going after her friends? She wanted to believe that they would be able to handle it.

The captain gave a cheerful smile. "Until then, please stay here and drink to your heart's content." He offered.

"So, you mean that our friends are also being attacked by captains?" Hana spoke up.

Chad tensed, gently coaxing the girls to stand on their own. He didn't like the idea of captains going after the others at all, he wasn't there to protect them.

Angel was a bit reluctant to step away from her brother, she knew this was likely to build into a fight, but she'd already missed the chance to be by his side while he fought up until this point. She would be there this time.

Kyoraku's smile dropped and he sighed. "Darn... It seems that I said too much."

Chad became a bit more intimidating. "The situation has changed..." He said. "Mr. Kyoraku, please move aside immediately."

Kyoraku met Chad's eyes and took a drink of his sake. "What if I refuse?" He asked.

Hana saw what was happening and pulled Angel a bit off to the side.

Chad, seeing that the girls were out of his blast radius, fired a blast from his fist directly at the captain. The blast seemed to be deflected once reaching him, shocking all three.

Kyoraku hadn't even moved. "Ah," he sighed, "It seems that things are going to get ugly here."

Angel was at a loss. She wanted to help, but with Chad's power, she might have trouble. If she happened to accidentally get in his way, she would either come face to face with that power herself or Chad would have to stop and leave himself open to attack.

Hana put a hand on Angel's shoulder. "There's not much we can do to help right now, but we can be support." She told her, understanding how frustrated she must be.

Both Hana and Angel had trained to get stronger but hadn't done much during the fighting. They wanted to help, but how could they if they didn't think that they were strong enough?

Chad continued to fire blasts at Kyoraku, none of them touching the man.

Kyoraku would dodge at the very last second.

Neither Hana nor Angel moved. If Hana were to draw her blade to act as support, then she wasn't sure what would happen.

She always seemed to run into this problem. She overanalyzed the situation and it caused her to hesitate.

Chad was obviously getting at least a little tired and Angel bit her lip.

Kyoraku leaned against a wall. "I suggest you give up." He crossed his arms. "You know, you're pretty good. Fast and strong, you're extremely good for a human." His friendly expression changed, becoming a bit darker. "However, you can't hit me. So none of that matters. The result is obvious if we keep this up. I suggest you give up and turn back now."

"Thanks for your advice, but I can't accept that," Chad said with a smile. He fired again, only to have it be dodged and Kyoraku appeared behind him.

To Hana and Angel, it only looked as if Kyoraku touched Chad, sending the boy tumbling across the ground.

"Chad!" Angel shouted. Both she and Hana rushed over to him.

A small area around Chad seemed to darken as they checked over him, their shadows becoming a bit more pronounced. Angel tensed, ready to protect while Hana made sure that Chad wasn't hurt badly.

"You're way past your limit." Kyoraku stepped closer, observing the darkness around the trio and being cautious of what the girls might do now that they moved.

Chad pushed himself up, Hana's hand resting on his back.

The captain clicked his tongue. "What a pain... Why are you so persistent? What do you want? Why do you come to the soul society?" He questioned.

"We came to rescue Rukia Kuchiki," Hana answered him, she didn't see a point in lying. Surely it would have seemed obvious what they were doing by now.

The captain didn't come any closer. "To rescue Rukia? She had only been gone since spring. That's too short, the friendship is not strong enough. You should have no reason to give up your life for her." He tried convincing the three to turn back.

Hana felt strongly for those she could get close to as friends, even if they were relatively new.

Chad straightened more. "True, I don't know much about her... I may not know her enough to give up my life to save her... However, Ichigo wants to save her." He stood straight now, shrugging off Hana's hand. He took a step forward to put Hana and Angel behind him. "Ichigo went all out for her, and that's enough."

A memory flashed through his mind, a memory of the day he met Ichigo and by extension Hana. "That's all the reason I need to put my life on the line for anything."

The captain tilted his hat down a bit. "You really are a pain to deal with. Since you are so determined, it was impolite of me to dissuade you. I apologize for that. Very well then..." He started to draw both of his swords. "I have no choice but to take your life." No longer was anything about him seemingly friendly.

Hana glance at Angel as she drew Belladonna. She had a very quickly pieced together plan that might help Chad out. Hopefully, Angel could pick up on it quickly.

Chad charged forward, ready to attack and the girls both braced themselves. Their own ideas of a plan present in their minds at that very second, they would do anything they could to help Chad. If he fell then they would still fight, this was the least that they could do.


	47. Did Our Meeting Foreshadow Our Future?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad remembers the incident that leads to his friendship with the Kurosaki siblings.   
> Originally typed in April 2020, getting up to more recently put out chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter contains canon typical violence and mentions of blood.

Chad's battle against Kyoraku began in earnest as he began charging another attack to fire at the captain. Standing a bit behind him, Angel watched the battle closely. Her shadow seeming to pulse, ready to be used for attack or defense, whatever its wielder wished of it.

Hana glanced at the siblings and placed Belladonna's tip on the ground, ready to pour her spiritual pressure through it at a moment's notice to help her friends. She knew she wasn't strong enough to fight on her own, especially not against this enemy, but she would do her best to be a good support.

If any of the three were to think back to how they met, there would be no doubt in their minds that their meeting had only foreshadowed the kinds of events that they would be involved in together. Almost always trouble, and always for what they felt was a good cause. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Chad had come across Ichigo being beaten by some thugs and easily helped out the then stranger sending the thugs running off, though not without them threatening the shorter of the two._

_The orange-haired boy looked at the nametag of the tall man, not being able to see the small girl hiding behind him. "Cha-do? Chad?" Ichigo tried his best to read off the name. Maybe his vision was sent blurry by what appeared to be a blow to the head and that's what made it hard to process the name. Or maybe he just couldn't be bothered to say it correctly._

_"No, it's Sado." Sado, the tall one, corrected._

_Ichigo didn't get up off the ground yet. "You're pretty tall. Hm... You're wearing my school's uniform. How come I've never seen you before?" He questioned. Not seeming too bothered by what had happened to him._

_"I just transferred from Mashiba middle school today. I'm in class 2-F." Was the answer that Sado gave._

_"Holy cow! You're in my class!" Shock crossed Ichigo's expression but only for a moment as he recovered and finally stood. He winced a little as he did. "Ow... Anyway, that's for your help." He put his hands on his knees like he was bracing himself._

_"Can you still stand?" Sado asked him._

_Behind him, Angel gulped quietly and pulled a tissue out of her pocket to hold out to the injured boy._

_Ichigo gave her a glance before taking the tissue from her. "Thanks," He wiped away the blood that ran down his face. "I'm okay." He tried to assure them._

_"A-are you sure?" Angel mumbled, wincing slightly at the fact that she was stuttering again. "You got beat up pretty badly..." She told him._

_"You're still bleeding, too." Sado chimed in._

_Ichigo started brushing his clothes off. "If they hadn't used that rock, I would have won easily." He stated, his tone dropping just a little bit as he sighed. "I'm sure to get an earful from Hana once she finds me." He grumbled. He'd separated from her while she had stopped at a flower stand. Whether to actually buy something or to just speak to another flower lover, he didn't know._

_Sado was silent for a minute before speaking again. "Were they 3rd years? What did you do to tick them off?" He interrogated, momently wondering if the teen remaining in front of them was the thug and not the group who had beaten on him._

_"Nothing," Ichigo started while picking his school bag up off the ground where he'd dropped it, "They don't like my hair. They don't like guys who stand out. That's all the reason they need." He looked over the two in front of him. "I think you're the same as me." He told them._

_Angel cocked her head to the side to convey her confusion at his words instead of voicing it. She didn't have to, Sado was confused as well and so shortly spoke up._

_"It's no big deal. I meant that you guys stand out like I do." The shorter boy started to walk away. "Alright, let's get out of here, Chad."_

_Sado looked at the wobbly boy with concern. "It's Sado and your legs are still shaking." He pointed out before following after him with Angel by his side._

_"Don't you like "Chad"? I think it sounds great, like "Dominic Chad"." Ichigo kept up the conversation._

_"Who's that?" Sado chimed in, doing his part to continue it._

_Ichigo kept giving off names that he thought were cool that included Chad, only getting that neither of the pair knew who any of those people were. Finally, he turned his attention to Angel. "Well, what's your name?" He questioned._

_The redhead's cheeks turned a bit pink and she fidgeted with the ends of her sleeves. "A-Angel." She muttered._

_Ichigo hummed to show that he heard her. "So are you two dating or something?" He asked._

_Both Angel and Sado shook their heads._

_"She's my sister." Sado didn't take much time to reply to him._

_"Oh, cool." Ichigo shrugged off like the question wouldn't have been awkward for the two._

_The trio ran into an orange-haired girl not too far from the alley. She was wearing the same school uniform as the three of them and seemed to be looking around for something before she spotted Ichigo's matching hair color._

_"There you are! Why did you run off?" She demanded, her hands placed on her hips and her face pulled into what was supposed to be a scowl but came off as more of a pout._

_Ichigo turned to the side, hoping to hide the injury on his forehead from Hana. "You could have gone home on your own." He grumbled at her._

_"Well yeah I could have, but I had a bad..." She trailed off, now noticing what Ichigo had been trying to hide from her. She gasped and stood on her toes to try and get a better look. "What happened?" It wasn't so much of a question as another demand for Ichigo to answer her._

_Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "Nothing important." He tried to brush it off._

_Hana's pout turned into a frown as she reached into her school bag and pulled out some wipes, she set to cleaning up the fresh blood that had spilled down after Ichigo had wiped the old away with the tissue Angel had given him._

_Sado, seeing that Ichigo wasn't going to answer the concerned girl in front of him, decided to do so for him. "He got beat up." He said simply._

_Angel looked at her brother and then at the two in front of them, wondering what they would do._

_Hana sighed through her nose and furrowed her eyebrows. "Getting into fights again, you know that Daddy and the girls are going to worry." She scolded._

_Ichigo brushed her off and stood straight before glancing at the other pair of siblings and finding a way to change the subject and keep him from being scolded further. "This is Chad, he helped me out, and that's Angel. She's his sister." He pointed out, hoping Hana would focus on them instead of him._

_Hana gave her brother a look to say that the incident would be discussed later before turning her attention to the other two. "Hi Chad, hi Angel. I'm Hana, it's nice to meet you." She bowed politely to them. "Thank you for helping out my stupid brother."_

_Ichigo simply rolled his eyes and didn't respond to the jab._

_"It's no problem." Sado tried to assure her._

_Angel nodded in agreement, sticking close to her brother for a bit of courage while speaking to their new acquaintances._

_Hana smiled at the two, feeling a click with them that she hadn't felt for a while. "You know, you have very pretty hair, Angel." She complimented._

_Angel blushed and ran her fingers through her hair. "T-th-thanks!" She stuttered, a bit startled by the compliment. "Yours is pretty too."_

_Hana smiled warmly at Angel, already feeling fairly comfortable with her and Sado._

_The quartet made their way to the bank of the river. Hana took a seat on the grass. Sado, who Ichigo continued to refer to as Chad, followed her lead and sat nearby along with Angel._

_Ichigo remained standing and was the one to try and keep the conversation going. "Abu- something, what's that?" He questioned Sado after being told a little about his past._

_"Abuelo, that means grandpa. His name was Oscar Joaquin De La Rosa." Sado explained to him._

_Angel was listening, though not speaking up now and watching the water move in front of her._

_Hana, having gotten a bit bored and now only partially listening, started gathering the flowers from the clovers around her and tying them together._

_"Where was he from?" Ichigo continued his interrogation. It seemed that he made it his mission to get to know more about Sado, all at once._

_"He was from Mexico," Sado replied. He didn't seem to have a problem with telling Ichigo these things. Maybe he saw a new friend here too. "I lived in Mexico before I came here."_

_"But you told me that you're from Okinawa." Ichigo griped about the change in what he'd been told. It was confusing him a little bit._

_Sado looked away from the river after a moment of silence and to the other boy. "I did?"_

_"Yeah!" The shorter of the two snapped and sighed loudly. "You always say whatever comes to mind. Stop doing that or I won't care about you anymore." He threatened._

_Hana paused in her weaving of flowers and glared at her brother, opening her mouth to scold him only to be cut off by a chuckle. She huffed a bit, relieved that Sado wasn't offended but still not happy with how Ichigo had spoken._

_Angel watched the older girl weave together clovers slowly but with an ease that showed she had done so several times before. She was quiet, but not uncomfortable. A small, relaxed smile turned up the corners of her lips._

_The two girls stayed quiet as their brothers talked. Since they were the more introverted of the group, they were both fairly used to situations like this._

_During the conversation, Hana had finished weaving a flower crown and placed it carefully on Angel's head. The younger girl flushed and looked up at Hana who was now sitting up on her knees._

_"I thought the flowers would look nice against your hair, and I was right." Hana chirped._

_Angel, still slightly embarrassed, wasn't entirely sure how to respond and it took a minute before she could find the right words. She squeaked out a small "thank you" to the still smiling Hana._

_Hana rested all the way back down on her bottom again, still smiling and nodding at the thanks she received._

_Angel chewed her lip in thought before speaking up. "Where did you learn to make these?" She asked._

_"My mom taught me. If you want, I could teach you how to make them." Hana offered._

_"I wouldn't want to be a bother..." Angel muttered._

_"It wouldn't be a bother. Besides," Hana looked over at Sado and Ichigo who were still talking, "I'm thinking we're going to end up hanging out." She pointed out. "Ichigo and your brother get along really well."_

_Angel looked over and found herself smiling a bit more. It did seem that Sado was becoming fast friends with Ichigo. She nodded her head in response to Hana. She enjoyed the older girl's company, so seeing more of the two wouldn't be a bad idea._

_"So," Hana started, "Want me to teach you how to make a flower crown?"_

_"Sure," Angel replied._

_Hana grinned and started to pick more clovers for the both of them, carefully picking them so that she was sure that the stems were long enough._

_As Angel was working hard on her flower crown and Hana helping her when she needed it, both girls got distracted by a broken cellphone landing beside them. The screen was completely shattered and was missing glass in several large sections. Whether from the impact of hitting the ground or being broken before wasn't clear._

_The girls looked at their brothers in confusion but were both brushed off and given no answers about it._

_It wasn't much later that the pairs parted ways to head home. Hana promised to pick up the flower crown weaving lesson later on. Though the lesson hadn't quite finished before they decided to separate, what they had been making quickly changed into something else to save time._

_Bracelets._

_Both Ichigo and Sado ended up with a flower bracelet on their wrists. Ichigo had put up a fight about putting it on but Hana convinced him to wear it, at least for a little bit._

_Angel had no problem getting Sado to wear the one she made, he simply let her put it on him._

_Sado and Angel walked silently together. Both listening to music through their own headphones as they walked as Sado thought back to his conversation with Ichigo._

_He hadn't been lying about where he was from. He was born in Okinawa and then moved to Mexico. His parents had died when he was eight and he'd hand no other relatives so he was adopted by his grandfather in Mexico._

_He hadn't been the best child at that time. Cocky and rebellious could probably be used to describe him, he was sure about his strength and constantly got into fights._

_At that point was when Angel came into the picture. A tiny girl just appeared on the porch one day. She had no memory of who she was other than her first name. She was quickly taken to the doctor where it was determined that she was around the same age as Sado and she apparently suffered from some sort of amnesia. Though they couldn't find a cause for it and it was assumed that the memory loss had been brought on by something traumatic._

_After a while of no one coming forward to claim her as family, Sado's grandfather decided to adopt Angel. He claimed her as his granddaughter and Sado's sister._

_It didn't go well at first, due to his personality at the time he wanted nothing to do with his new sister. Sado was often scolded by his grandfather for fighting, but also for leaving Angel alone or ignoring her._

_The poor girl seemed to be suffering after being abandoned by whatever family she'd had before. If left alone she would suffer from anxiety attacks._

_While Sado was a bit abrasive, Angel still seemed to want to get close to her new brother. Even if he left her alone and sent her into an anxiety attack, if he returned injured then she was concerned about him._

_Thanks to Angel's kindness and his grandfather's scolding, Sado changed for the better. He accepted his little sister and was overall a better person._

_Due to the headphones and being lost in thought, neither of the Yasotora siblings noticed the group approaching them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note about the time gap between updates:   
> Hey, been a bit huh? Well yeah sorry about that. Started messing around with sculpting clay, became an aunt and yadda yadda yadda. Anyway yeah, this chapter ended up having to be split into two when I was writing it, and here's the first part. I hope you all enjoy and thank you for reading.


	48. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to read more of the incident that leads to the Yasutora siblings and the Kurosaki siblings being friends. Oops, someone got recognized.  
> Originally typed in April 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of violence, weapons, assault, and so forth. Please read carefully.

_Angel wasn't entirely sure what happened before she came to. She remembered feeling burning pain and like she was unable to move by her own will. A spot on her back, below her ribs, felt like it was burning and she could feel her uniform sticking to that spot uncomfortably._

_What she noticed next was that she couldn't move her hands. Around her wrists was a coarse rope that dug into and pricked her skin. It was painful and sure to leave marks, if not rope burn._

_Something about this felt familiar. Like she'd been in this situation before._

_Her adrenaline spiked and she started to become more aware of her surroundings. As her eyes focused more, she spotted her brother across from her. He seemed to be tied to a chair by some sort of metal cables. His head was slumped over and he wasn't moving. He hadn't regained consciousness yet._

_"Sado!" She gasped and went to stand, since her legs weren't bound, but froze as a heavy arm fell over her shoulders._

_This was way too familiar._

_"If I were you, I wouldn't move Girlie. We could do something bad to both of you if you don't behave." The voice was falsely sweet and concerned._

_It was one of the guys who had been attacking Ichigo before. The one with glasses and a nose ring. He pulled Angel against his side with a smug smirk at how tense she was._

_' **Now if you don't listen to me and be a good girl, we'll have to do something really bad to that crummy brother of yours.'**_

_A memory from before she and Sado moved to Japan, one she really didn't want to think about. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she couldn't stop them from escaping. Even if she could bear to leave Sado and tried to run, there were so many people around her that there was no chance she would be able to get away._

_The only reason she'd been able to escape something similar before was because of Sado. He saved her, but how could he this time?_

_Even if she managed to escape, where would she go? She had no idea where she was._

_She started to shake a bit and her breathing sped up._

_The guy with an arm around Angel signaled to one of the others who then decked Sado in the jaw as hard as they could. It seemed to jolt the boy awake._

_Angel flinched and closed her eyes tightly when it happened._

_The man beside her smiled at the scene. "How does it feel? So painful that you're about to piss your pants?" He questioned and brought a lit cigarette carelessly close to Angel's face. He didn't even bother to look and make sure that it didn't touch her._

_Sado was doing his best to stay calm despite the sight. His bound hands clenching into fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. At the same time, he subtly tried to pull his wrists apart as much as he could._

_It was no use, the cables had no give._

_He managed to keep a calm face as he spoke. "Piss my pants because of the pain? I don't think it's that bad yet, sorry." He apologized, though it wasn't actually sincere._

_This seemed to throw the ringleader off for a minute but he recovered quickly and pulled Angel tighter against his side as he threw down and snuffed out the cigarette._

_Angel winced and whimpered as the movement pulled the fabric of her shirt off of whatever wound it had been stuck to._

_"Is that so? Then how about this?" The man held a pair of wire cutters up threateningly under Angel's chin. "Then how about we take the time and wreck this little girl, right in front of you? What will you do?" A sick grin covered his face._

_Angel began to shake more and the tears ran down her cheeks more quickly than before. This couldn't be happening again._

_Please no._

_Sado fought harder against his bindings, only succeeding in breaking his skin as the cables cut into his wrists. Even with the rage building up, he couldn't break free._

_But, he soon found that he didn't need to._

_Not this time._

_A foot slammed into the leader's face, shocking him enough to let go of Angel._

_She was too shocked to move but gentle hands pulled her away before the leader was once again kicked. This attack sent him out of the chair._

_He landed with his head in the water and lifted it to bark something at his lackeys but his assailant stepped on his head, forcing it back into the water._

_When Angel looked at her savior she found an orange-haired knight in shining armor: Ichigo Kurosaki. The tears that rolled down her cheeks were now tears of relief._

_The other person, the one that pulled Angel away when her captor attacked was Hana. Her hands did their best to work the knot around Angel's wrists loose, but when she couldn't do it she grabbed the wire cutters and started to cut the knot apart._

_Hana was unconcerned with the others, she had faith that Ichigo could at the very least hold them back enough for her to free Angel and Sado. Once Angel was free Hana ushered her up the bank a bit closer to the road before going to free Sado._

_The wire cutters still in hand, she worked on freeing him. However, she didn't succeed before Ichigo had been victorious over the others._

_One battered teen laid on the ground before the other while Hana was still working through the cables._

_"All right, let's do this, Chad. You keep doing your thing and don't fight for yourself. But, fight for me, and I will fight for you._

_If you put your life on the line to protect something, then I'll put my life on the line to protect it too. Promise?" Ichigo huffed and puffed tiredly through the speech._

_Sado, or Chad as he became known as pledged an agreement._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He promised.

He made Ichigo that promise.

He can't lose this fight.

Chad continued his attack with more vigor behind it than before. It was so close to hitting the captain before him, but also, so far away.

There was no chance for Angel and Hana to help attack or even to bolster Chad's strength.

In the blink of an eye, the captain was behind him and a deep slash appeared across his chest.

Angel froze, the world around her seeming to come crashing down. She couldn't move, no matter how much her mind screamed at her. All she could do was cry out.

An anguished cry of her own got caught in Hana's throat. Belladonna in hand, she rushed over to Chad. As she did so the blade remained pointed toward the ground, seemingly in no position to attack had it been a regular sword.

But Kyoraku knew that it was no regular sword. It was a zanpakutou, a blade that could develop any multitude of attacks depending on the wielder's style and spiritual pressure. He watched the girl closely as she approached, his guard still up and his own zanpakutou poised to attack if the girl tried something.

But she didn't even turn an eye to him. She rushed to the boy's side, placed her sword down, and carefully turned him onto his back.

Every soul reaper knew that you don't take your hand off your sword in a battle. Either this girl didn't know that, or she didn't intend to fight at all.

"Chad! Chad, I'm so sorry I couldn't help you more..." Her hands shook as she inspected the wound that Chad had received, blood staining them as she looked at them helplessly. There had to be something that she could do, right? There had to be something she could do to help Chad now!

Her eyes landed on Belladonna and she picked up the blade again.

Kyoraku wondered for a moment if the girl was intending to end her comrade's pain by ending his life, but she certainly didn't seem the type to do that.

Hana pointed the tip of her sword at Chad's wound. What she had in mind was something she had not practiced. She wasn't even sure if it would work. "Please... Please let this work... Peony!"

For a tense moment, it seemed as if nothing would happen. Chad was still bleeding continuously. But, once that moment passed, blood-red blossoms bloomed from the wound on his chest. The flowers only lasted a few seconds before disappearing and leaving the wound seemingly untouched.

But it had been, it had worked even the smallest amount. The wound was no longer bleeding.

Hana didn't notice this though. That simple thing had drained her of all energy. She could only hope that it was enough to save her friend and that Angel would be alright.

Belladonna clattered to the ground beside the two as Hana collapsed.

Kyoraku scanned over all three of the intruders, the one with the hood over their head wasn't reacting but the air around them seemed dark. He slowly stepped closer to the two unconscious teens, examining them. The orange-haired girl didn't seem well versed as a fighter, he was sure about that.

He couldn't get too close before he had to flash step away from a tendril of darkness coming from the other ryouka.

"Stay away from them!" Overlapping voices snarled.

Kyoraku sighed, getting tired of this all. They were all just kids.

Tendrils continued to lash out in all directions, seemingly having no target. The strikes were powerful but easy for the captain to avoid.

Briefly, he felt a familiarity with this power. It was similar to a soul reaper he'd known years ago. One who went missing and stayed missing.

He was confident that he would have no problem subduing the attacker once he got close.

However, the tactics changed and one tendril managed to nick him, a simple scratch but enough to surprise him and bring his guard up once more. But now, the tendrils moved faster. A few more managed to land simple hits on him, he had to end this soon.

"Bakudo number 4; Hainawa." A crackling yellow rope began to appear in the captain's hands. He tossed it at the offender and it hit its target perfectly. The ryouka was caught in the essentially paralyzing energy and the tendrils started to fade.

This did not stop the overlapping voices from continuing to screech profanities at him as he stepped a bit closer. Now, he could see the intruder's face. He froze and his eyes widened a bit. "You're..."

The screeching stopped as the person glared at him for a second before another burst of power, this time much stronger had him covering his face and stepping back. In that time the person had somehow managed to break free and disappear.

"First the Red Demon shows up... Now little Angel has come back." He sighed heavily, knowing that this would have to be reported.

Though, it was a relief to know that the girl wasn't dead.


	49. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These poor kids need a break from my torment, but they aren't getting one. Kurotsuchi is not a favorite of mine.  
> Originally typed on October 2nd, 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of experiments performed against a subject's will, brainwashing, what is probably medical malpractice, violence, reanimation, and body deconstruction and reconstruction. Please read carefully.

The captain of squad 12, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, strode with purpose toward one of the occupied wings of his laboratory. He grumbled to himself as he went. Mostly about what he was planning to do and the exact reason that he was in this specific wing at the moment.

Now was a good time to test out an experiment that he'd been working on for some time now. Every time he tested this particular subject it failed and went berserk. It also seemed that the subject kept a residual hollow mentality the last few times that it had been tested.

Now he was ready to test it again.

A few of his subordinates busied themselves at monitors around the room that were keeping track of the test subject's health and vital signs. If anything changed in it, they would know. There were a few keeping logs of how often sedative was given and how much, to keep the subject from being active when they didn't want it to be.

Kurotsuchi made his way to the table in the center of the room. The body that laid on the table didn't look very alive, but according to the monitors, there was a heartbeat. Their skin held a deathly pallor and surgical stitching decorated it. A line across the forehead, a line where the head and neck connected, a line where the neck met the shoulders. A single long line of stitches ran from their collarbone to bellow where the belly button would be if it hadn't been lost by being opened up like that and then sewn shut. Each joint had stitches as well, wherever a limb connected to the body there was stitching like it was holding the being together.

They'd been taken apart and put back together many times. It almost seemed like a miracle that Kurotsuchi decided to keep this subject looking relatively how they had before instead of just completely disfiguring them and making them unrecognizable. 

Perhaps it was just to increase the chances that someone wouldn't just want to destroy this subject on sight.

The captain looked over the test subject once more, making sure that none of the stitches would come undone and have them fall apart on him. No, that wouldn't happen this time. He'd made sure that the skin adhered to skin well. He'd even pulled on the limbs with severe force just to make sure of that.

Yes, this was certainly a perfect time to give this subject another test run. To hell with what the Head Captain would say about the fact that it had been done! He could always argue that they might not have succeeded without the experiment. Yes, yes he could work with that. After all, it wasn't the first of his experiments that he'd gone ahead with.

Kurotsuchi picked up a vial and an empty syringe. "Let's see if you'll listen to me this time, you brat." He cackled and filled the syringe with a stimulant, enough to bring the subject completely out of sedation. The contents were injected into the being on the table, simply by roughly shoving the hypodermic into the skin.

Blue eyes opened, they held no light or life at all and stared straight at the ceiling. For someone who had been injected with stimulants, they were extremely calm, simply processing the appearance of the ceiling above them. Other than opening their eyes, the subject didn't move at all which made the captain grin.

With a simple hand signal the subordinates that were standing by went to undo the restraints holding the person down. It was only then that they moved and the move was simply to sit up, that was it.

This was going better than it had in the past. The subject wasn't attacking anyone this time. It wasn't howling and attempting to rip its own head apart. It wasn't behaving like a rabid beast and that was a good sign to Kurotsuchi.

But, would it attack if it was ordered to?

Mustard yellow eyes scanned each of the subordinates in the room. Each one of them did their best not to flinch under the man's gaze, or they would be picked for whatever he had in mind. Finally, his eyes settled on one person. A new recruit, but that didn't really matter. If he wanted, Kurotsuchi could piece them back together. In fact, he could do whatever he wanted to them all.

"Attack." He didn't hide the excitement in his voice as he pointed at the poor soul reaper that he had singled out. If the subject took this order, then it was a success.

The subject's eyes looked away from the empty wall they had settled on when they sat up and latched onto the poor soul who was meant to be their victim.

There was hardly time for the others to move away before the subject was upon the victim, literally ripping them limb from limb with sheer force alone. While some of the observers were horrified by the sight before them, others were used to their captain's attitude and simply watched, fascinated.

With the poor victim who had been marked for death no longer breathing Kurotsuchi grinned wickedly and cackled, "Wonderful! Wonderful! It seems like we finally have success!" He cheered.

From a nearby chest, he pulled a recovered zanpakutou and tossed it at the being. It had been a miracle to find the correct one, but he was sure its power would remain. The wielder still had remnants of their old power, of their old fighting style, even their training.

"You're going to go after some ryouka," Kurotsuchi ordered and left the others to finish up making them presentable enough to leave the lab.

The subject, now fully dressed in an unmarked uniform, examined the world outside for the first time in many years. Memories remained of how to navigate the Seireitei, though he couldn't connect any emotions to them.

He'd been given the most basic descriptions of the ryouka. Those who looked out of place. That was enough, he supposed. He had his orders, but he didn't entirely want to follow them.

While he was created to be obedient and follow the orders given to him, he still carried some free will.

Something in his mind told him to look for someone besides the ryouka.

He did still have something to tell someone, and it was important.

Hopefully, his insubordination wouldn't be discovered before he finally got to finish the last sentence he'd ever spoken.

The awakened boy wandered around the Seireitei, looking for anything that would spark something in his mind.

His "savior" must have put out the word about him, he could hear the murmurs from anyone he passed. Murmurs from anyone that happened to catch sight of him.

He ignored them. He had no time to deal with them, not when he was on a mission.

Though the details of his past were fuzzy, the more he thought about them, the more clear some parts became. He was just lucky that they were appearing slowly.

The last time he'd awakened his memories had bombarded him in an instant causing him to go into a crazed state.

It wasn't something he remembered though, when he'd been taken apart they wiped it out of his memory.

What was his mission right now?

Find _Them_.

Who _They_ were, he wasn't exactly sure. But, he figured that he would know if he found them.

Could the ryouka have been who he was looking for? Yes, that was a possibility, but something told him that they weren't. That was simply a mission that he had been given, not his own personal mission.

Blue eyes scanned the squad 5 hallways. They were emptier than he remembered. There was some pull in his mind that told him he could have found someone important here, but there didn't seem to be anyone.

So he moved on.

What was it that he wanted to tell whoever he was looking for? Why was it so important that he was risking being taken apart once more for his disobedience?

_Don't trust._

That was part of it.

Don't trust who?

He gripped the side of his head in frustration, fingers running over the stitches that were hidden in his dark hair. If only he could remember how he had come to be whatever he was now. That could have saved everyone so much trouble.

Was he considered dead?

Was he considered living?

He didn't know.

Was he like those the gossiped when they saw him?

He had dressed like them. He had a sword like them. But they all stayed away from him. None tried to talk to him, they all avoided giving him more than a glance if they could.

Maybe he should have listened to the gossip. Maybe they were talking about who he was before.

He was something before, right? Something other than... This?

Again, he didn't know.

Who even was he?

Reanimation Project K is what he remembered being referred to before leaving the lab. "K" seemed right somehow.

Two names came to mind, Kuski and Kuro.

Those seemed right, but which one was he?

He stopped walking, not caring if he was alone or not. The first word he'd spoken in longer than he even knew tumbling past his lips. It was quiet and raspy like his voice didn't remember how to do anything other than howl and scream.

His first word after being "reborn" was his own name.

_"Kuro."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up heavier than I planned once I started typing it. I wrote it down first then typed it and as I type I tend to add in more details so it occasionally ends up way worse for the characters than it was before. 
> 
> I'm sorry it was like this, but welcome back Kuro.


	50. Another Rumored Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four people in a prison cell. A captain passes along news to another captain. Angel has memory loss again.   
> Originally typed on October 3rd, 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find that you would like me to add warnings or tags to this story, please do not hesitate to let me know. As of now, I do not feel like this chapter needs any warnings.

Waking up in an unfamiliar place after being near death can be a little confusing. Uryu realized this and then shortly wondered how and why he was still alive.

He certainly felt like he was going to die after his fight with the squad 12 captain.

His thoughts were derailed by a bandaged face coming into his vision from the bunk above his own. Well, he at least assumed and hoped it was a face. With how covered in bandages it was it took him a second to process.

"Oh! You're finally up!" The mummy cheered.

It took him a second to realize that it was Ganju, who the group had met in the Rukon district shortly after the fight with Jidanbo. He'd appeared to be a no-good thug at first but actually turned out to be a decent guy. He and his sister had been the ones to help the rescue group enter the Seirieitei in the first place.

He was also a very loud guy.

The occupant of the other top bunk across the cell didn't appreciate the loud volume or enthusiasm at the moment. She was just regaining consciousness and turned her head to glare at the two.

Why was anyone yelling?

Hana started pushing herself to sit up. It was hard with the shackles on her wrist and how weak her body still felt from using Belladonna in an unpracticed way like that. She had a few more questions for the sword spirit, but she would worry about that later.

One, two, three other people in the cell. That's all she counted.

Uryu, Ganju, and Chad.

No Angel.

Was that because the cell was full so they put her in another one?

She remembered the warning that Akari had given them and started to feel a bit panicked.

What if they had seen Angel and mistaken her for the girl that Akari had talked about? What if Angel had been taken to one of the two captains that she was to do anything she could to avoid? Worry and panic continued to bubble up in Hana's chest.

"If all four of us got captured... Orihime probably also got captured..." Chad's voice cut through the static in Hana's ears.

That's right, Ichigo and Orihime weren't here with them. Orihime and Uruyu had ended up in a group, hadn't they?

Hana didn't try to look at Chad again, she felt like she would fall off the bunk if she tried. "What about Angel?" She spoke up.

This pulled the men's attention to her and they went silent. They hadn't realized that she was awake.

Chad stared at the floor in silence making the others worry a bit about if he would try something. He was just as reckless as the rest of them and even if he was hurt it probably wouldn't keep him if he felt that he needed to leave.

But he finally spoke. "She doesn't seem to be nearby. She must have somehow managed to get away." He finally answered.

Both Hana and Chad were worried about her. Neither of them knew where she was or what had happened to her, and only one person in the cell had a warning about the captains.

Hana sighed. "So, we're assuming for the moment that Ichigo, Yoruichi, and possibly Angel are roaming free?" She questioned.

The three other occupants of the cell nodded in response to her question. Not that she could see all of them, but along with that came the nonverbal grunts of agreement.

Hana was still a bit anxious, understandably.

Chad seemed calm. "I'm waiting for Ichigo." He announced. "He will definitely come and get us out of here."

"He's right... So the only thing we can do right now is rest and be ready for rescue." Hana agreed with him.

She felt useless again. All she had really done was help Chad a small bit and it had caused her to pass out. She wasn't injured like the other three, she had just drained her spiritual pressure more than she had expected.

Where even was Belladonna right now? She'd just now noticed that the blade wasn't by her side.

Surely they had confiscated it when she was captured. It wouldn't be a good idea to let a prisoner keep a weapon.

The thought that she didn't know where her sword was made her even more nervous.

But it didn't change the fact that all she could do was wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel had, like Uruyu, woken up in a place that she didn't recognize. The main difference between the two experiences being that she didn't feel like she had almost died, and she was not shackled in a prison cell.

She had no memory of coming here.

In fact, she had no memory of what happened after Chad fell to the ground.

That memory coming to light caused her to sit straight up with a gasp. "Chad!" She looked around her.

She was alone. Chad wasn't there, Hana wasn't either.

Maybe Hana had gotten Angel away and then gone back to help Chad?

"Hana...?" Angel tried nervously calling out into the near-silent room. She got no answer.

So Hana really wasn't there with her. She really was alone somewhere that she didn't know and where people were searching everywhere for them.

Anxious tears built up in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She didn't let her anxiety overwhelm her just yet. She took a breath and focused on locating Chad and Hana through their spiritual pressure. It was a skill she had picked up on quite quickly once she started working with it.

It didn't take her long to locate the two, they were both in the same place. With other spiritual pressures that she recognized. Chad, Hana, Uruyu, and Ganju were all in one spot and they were all alive.

But had they been captured? That was worrying, but at least they were alive.

But, if they had all been captured, then how did she get here?

Finally taking another minute to observe her surroundings she picked up on combat noises coming from somewhere nearby.

Hopefully, she hadn't woken up to another battle.

She took a minute to think about the pros and cons of going looking for the noise. If it was a fight and she stayed right where she was she could either be found or not. Even finding the source of the noise carried a risk of capture.

But, if she got captured then she might be taken to the others.

There was also the chance that she could be taken directly to the captains that she was supposed to avoid though.

After another minute of hesitation, she went searching for the source of the noise.

It only took getting to the ladder to finally recognize Ichigo's spiritual pressure. That was a bit of a relief, she wasn't really alone.

But who was he fighting?

Angel carefully made her way down the ladder to find a field of swords in an area not unlike the underground training room at Urahara's shop. Ichigo was fighting against a man with dark flowing hair in a long coat that also seemed to flow even if the man wasn't making a move.

Another once-over of the area caused her to notice a violet haired woman watching the fight intently.

Who was she?

The woman was quick to notice her and gestured her over before looking back to the fight that Ichigo was involved in. It was like she couldn't afford to take her eyes off of it for too long.

Already feeling a sort of trust towards the woman, like she already knew her, Angel rushed over as quickly as she could. She didn't want to cause a distraction for whatever Ichigo was doing.

"I see you finally woke up." The woman spoke once Angel was near enough to hear her.

Angel didn't give a reply. Instead, she found herself staring at the woman trying to figure out if she knew her from somewhere. There was no way that the stranger didn't notice this, but she didn't say anything about it.

"I'm sorry." Angel finally spoke up, "who are you?"

Yoruichi gave a small chuckle without looking away from the fight. "I forgot you didn't know about the transformation, I'm Yoruichi. You know, the cat." She answered.

Angel took the news of this well, much like she'd taken seeing a talking cat well. It didn't seem too out of place with everything that had been happening around her. With entering a different world, fighting monsters, meeting a talking cat, and finding odd powers; how odd was it that a cat could change into a person? Not very at this point.

A small moment of silence passed between the two. Only the sounds of Ichigo's fighting in the background were what was keeping it from being completely silent.

Angel couldn't take it anymore, she had to know how she got here. "How did I get here?" She finally asked.

Yoruichi gave her a quick side glance, the small smile she'd sported was gone now. "I was hoping that you would tell me."

Angel, while disappointed at the lack of an answer, nodded in acceptance. While she wasn't sure exactly how she had found her two companions, she knew what happened up to a point.

So, she recounted everything for the cat woman. Everything that had happened since they had separated.

This included the encounter with Akari. She did leave out the request that the woman had given her, it seemed like something really personal that didn't need to be shared with every person that Angel spoke to. The main thing that was mentioned about the encounter with the other mysterious woman was that she had helped Angel and Hana escape a group of soul reapers and given the two a warning about running into the two specific captains.

"And she was right to warn you about that. I kept it from you hoping that we wouldn't have to worry about it too much, but I see now that it was a mistake to keep it from you." Yoruichi said.

She knew Akari, she didn't know her well, but she knew her. She'd heard stories about her here and there, not usually in a bad light due to who they were coming from, and she knew that the woman had occasionally been training at the shop as well.

"Do you think it matters that the captain with flowery coat fought us...? Do you think he saw me enough to mistake me for the other girl?" Angel asked.

Yoruichi was a little frustrated by the fact that Angel couldn't remember if the captain had seen her face or hair at all. Because of that, there was no way of knowing for sure if he had recognized her, but she had to assume that he did.

"I do think that it matters. With the time he's had since you showed up here, he's probably reported everything about the fight by now." Yoruichi did her best to not sound angry in front of Angel. It wasn't the girl's fault really. She had done what she could.

She hadn't wanted to tell her that, but she needed to know. There was nothing they could do about it right now. If Angel's sighting had been reported, then it was safest for her to stay here for the time being.

Yet neither woman had an answer to how Angel had escaped and currently doubted whether that question would ever fully be answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyoraku had indeed started to spread the word about Angel or at the very least the girl who looked like her. Though, for now, only a select few knew about it. That select few included the Head Captain, the captain of squad 13, and he was on his way to inform one more captain for the time being.

He did wonder if informing the little captain about this was a bad idea. The poor young man had a lot on his plate at the moment. Not only was he dealing with the invasion and murder of a fellow captain, all of them were dealing with that, he had taken on the workload of squad 5's paperwork.

When Kyoraku entered the office of the squad 10 captain, he found the young captain Hitsugaya hard at work on stacks of paperwork. The older captain couldn't tell just from looking whether the papers he was working on currently were for his own squad or squad 5.

The lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto, seemed to be fast asleep on the couch. Not that Kyoraku could blame her, he could probably use a nap himself.

"Is there something that I can help you with, Captain Kyoraku?" Toshiro questioned. He didn't look up from what he was doing. He was nearly snapping at the other captain for interrupting while he still had so much work to do.

But, with everything going on he was sure that there was something important to be said or done. That kept him from telling the other captain to leave right away.

Kyoraku strode over with arms in his sleeves. "I thought you'd like to hear the news." He said.

Toshiro paused, what news would another captain have to share with him that a meeting hadn't been called.

Taking notice of the pause, Kyoraku continued. "Seems that we might have more than one red-haired intruder."

"More than one?" Toshiro probed for more information. He was curious about why exactly this was brought to his attention.

Akari was without a doubt one of the red-haired intruders he'd spoken of. But why would he bring news about her directly to Toshiro? He wasn't one of the very few that knew about the familial relationship between the Red Demon and the icy captain.

As for there being "more than one red-haired intruder," there were few people that Toshiro knew with red hair like that. Kuski's family carried red hair.

Did he show up too?

"Yeah, we've got the Red Demon running loose, haven't seen her myself, but in my fight with three ryouka I came across a familiar little red-head who's been known as missing." The older of the two captains paused and met the younger's curious gaze. "Guess you could say that she's a little _angel_." He put emphasis on the last word.

He knew that the intelligent little captain would understand.

Toshiro's eyes widened and his grip on the pen in his hand tightened. Could it really be true?

"Are you positive?" He tried to hide the slight waver in his voice.

Kyoraku picked up on it and wasn't surprised. Once again the little captain was under a lot of stress, and while he never seemed to show it, he surely got more stressed than he let on.

Adding the news that his missing friend may have returned and happened to be a ryouka, it must have added so much more stress to his shoulders.

Toshiro placed his pen down and pinched the bridge of his nose, the new wave of stress that very much did settle on his shoulders was giving him a headache. "Are you positive?" He asked again.

"Appearance-wise, yes. But something was off about her. Her behavior, her voice seemed to be more than once voice, her power, her attacks, they were all different than before. Kyoraku answered.

Toshiro gave a nod to show that he was listening. "Thank you for the information." He said quietly and dismissed the other captain.

He had a lot on his mind now.

How could both Akari and Angel be back at the same time? What were the chances of that?

Toshiro got up from his desk to make himself from tea. He didn't bother to wake Rangiku. He could use the time while she was sleeping to think.

Angel and Akari, two people he was convinced that he had lost forever, had suddenly resurfaced as intruders attacking the Seireitei.

Why?

How?

Perhaps it was someone disguising themselves as the two. Or maybe, one was real and was impersonating the other.

Akari's spiritual pressure was highly believable but, according to Kyoraku, Angel was off.

Could Akari be trying to impersonate Angel now?

Would she do something like that?

Toshiro sat back at his desk with his newly brewed tea and picked up his pen. Why did he question if Akari would do that? It's not as if he felt like he knew anything about her or who she really was anymore.

How badly he wanted to search for both of them, if only just to see if he could confirm that either was the person that they were rumored to be. But he would not leave until he finished all the paperwork currently on his desk, all of it from squad 5. He had to make sure that the only person he was truly positive he had left was taken care of.

He couldn't just abandon the responsibilities that he had taken on. 


	51. An Oversight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Official chapter 50 of Entwined Lives if you don't count the prologue. 
> 
> Fluffy little memory of a mother and son. Akari needs to take a walk. Maybe Momo is more stubborn than some of her friends thought she would be.
> 
> Originally typed on October 3rd, 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains mentions of mental abuse, a small instance of physical abuse, escaping into your own mind as a coping mechanism, and mentions of alcoholism. Please be careful when reading and if you find another thing I should warn about please tell me, thank you.

To Toshiro Hitsugaya paperwork was not a new concept. It wasn't new to him even when he first joined the 13 court guard squads. He had pretty much been introduced to the concept from the time he was a newborn.

Paperwork is in part how he learned to read and write.

While his mother had not been an active duty soul reaper for a chunk of his life, she was in charge of the paperwork for her squad. Though she often helped fill out other squad's paperwork when they got behind. There were many days when he was young that he would sit by her side at the kotatsu while she completed her work.

She was not always a diligent worker. Papers would pile up while she instead spent time with him, Angel, and Kuski. But there were days and even nights that she would work almost non-stop.

Eventually, he had gotten curious. He would point at words on the pages and ask what they meant. The words would always be explained to him and his mother would often take a piece of paper that she no longer needed in order to show him how to write. After her initial demonstration, she would give him charcoal so that he could try it himself. This made her work take longer but she didn't seem to care. She'd stop as many times as Toshiro would ask her "did I do it right this time?"

Toshiro Hitsugaya was not one that hated paperwork.

It could be tedious and exhausting but, even with things in the state that they currently were, it would bring back fond memories. Ones that he never tried to repress as he felt they had helped prepare him for the position he currently held.

That being said, he was sick of looking at paperwork. He was beginning to wish that his lieutenant would wake up just so he could try and get her to take, at the very least, just a few papers off his hands.

Yet, he didn't wake her.

Rangiku woke on her own a little while later, once he had finished a majority of the work.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked which got her attention.

She seemed a little confused and stared at the short captain for a minute. "Captain... What are you doing in my room?" She asked.

Yup, she was a little confused.

He was too tired and too used to those antics to be very annoyed right now. "Idiot, the office is not your room." He had also purposely let her sleep thinking that she could use it after everything had happened.

Toshiro picked up what remained of the paperwork. "Since you're up, give me a hand with this. I'm dead tired."

Rangiku was already beside his desk before she spoke up again. "Well, you were the one who volunteered to take over all of squad 5's paperwork." She very lightly teased. She knew her captain had a good heart and that he was trying to help the best he could.

"Just shut up and finish these at your desk," Toshiro ordered with a sigh.

Maybe with Rangiku finishing up the paperwork, he could go out searching for the truth about Akari and Angel. He just had to wake himself up more. He took another drink from his teacup, hoping the caffeine would help chase away the exhaustion. Though he had lost track of just how much tea he had drunk over the course of working, and surely the caffeine wouldn't be much help now.

It was the frantic knocking on the door that pushed back his exhaustion more than the tea. Something had upset the squad's 7th seat.

"What is it? Open the door!" He ordered. With how this was going, this couldn't be good news and he almost didn't want to deal with it.

The 7th seat wasted as little time as possible getting to the point. "Lieutenant Abarai, Lieutenant Hinamori, and Lieutenant Kira had escaped from their cells!"

No, that wasn't good at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things seemed too quiet at the moment. With all the chaos that had been occurring before now, could you call this the calm before the storm?

Akari had taken to spending more time in the "building of death," as she liked to call it. She hated it but was absolutely positive that she would not be captured here.

 _He_ wouldn't have chosen it as his hideout and base of operations if it wasn't a guarantee that he would be unseen.

Occasionally she would leave and get into a small fight somewhere in the Seireitei, just to keep herself from being too bored. Plus, it was still her job to keep the chaos going. She needed to help wear everyone down from all the fighting and stress.

That didn't often do much to alleviate her boredom. So, she began spending more time in her inner world with Ethne. The sword spirit was much better company than the person currently sharing a building with her, even if the spirit wasn't happy about what was going on.

Both took out their anger, frustration, and boredom by sparring with each other when they could. Even that was only entertaining for so long.

"So, what do you plan to do once this is all over?" Ethne asked.

"What do you mean?" Akari replied with a question.

The girl across from her wielder rolled her eyes a little bit at the fact that her question wasn't understood. "I mean once he's done with whatever he's doing. You can't just expect to go back to your old life." She explained.

Akari ran her fingers over the petals of one of the few blooming lotus flowers. "I know that I can never go back..." She trailed off and went silent for a minute. "I don't know what to do after this..." She mumbled.

Ethne laid on her stomach on the cooled lava rock that made up the ground around them. "Maybe you start over." She offered up a solution. "You know; marry some idiot, start a new family. Have new kids."

Akari glared at her. "I don't want that. The only family I want is the one I had..." She sighed. She was almost offended by the suggestion, and what made it worse was that Ethne was a part of her. A part of her was the one suggesting this.

It really bothered her. To her, it meant that some part of her wanted to just forget about everything that had happened to her, who she was, and just start completely over.

Ethne pouted and rested her cheek on her hand. "Then what will you do? Will you drink the rest of your days away?" She tried again. She wanted Akari to think about this, she wanted the woman to continue to have a purpose.

Akari didn't respond that time.

"You really don't have a plan, do you?" Ethne continued.

Akari shrugged and looked at the smoke covered sky. Lightning occasionally flashed across it, not unlike how it would look if some far off volcano was erupting.

That was her inner world, a violent landscape that she found beautiful. She found it relaxing, though others probably never would. If she could live here for the rest of her life, then she would. She would hide away from everything and just exist within her inner world.

But as of now, it was hard to get any sort of peace.

Akari was ripped out of her inner world by a yank on her hair. It wasn't a playful or gentle yank either. It was a rough yank that left her scalp stinging and she wondered how many of her hairs had been pulled out.

"It almost feels like you're avoiding me~" _He_ cooed.

Akari didn't even try to hide her anger, she hadn't been and he had been enjoying it. "That's because I am avoiding you." She snapped.

That was the problem with staying here. _He_ was never far away and took almost every chance to torment her when he wasn't busy. It was all fun and games for him.

"Is there anything you need or are you just tormenting me again?" She nearly snarled.

 _He_ chuckled and tilted her chin up with a single finger. "I'm keeping you company, Darling. You have no family to visit you, so you must be lonely." He was tormenting her again.

She growled to herself and stood from her place on the floor. The only way to escape him for a bit was to go out and cause the chaos that he wanted her to cause.

At this point, she almost wouldn't care if she got caught. If not for the fact that there were still people on the inside that knew how to torment her the same way that _He_ did.

She left without saying another word, it wasn't like he would care anyway. The only reason he enjoyed having her close was so that he could have fun tormenting her. It was something to pass the time while he did whatever he was doing.

This time before she left she darkened her hair instead of just wearing her hood. The hood was still on her uniform just in case the means by which she darkened her hair temporarily didn't hold up.

It was night, not that it mattered. She always went out into the night to wander when she couldn't sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man kneeling before Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto apologized again and again to the two superiors who had come to learn more about the escape.

"Lieutenant Hinamori called for me and as soon as I reached her... Everything blacked out..." The guard explained. "When I woke up, it was already like this. I don't know what to say..." He finished up, obviously fighting not to just say sorry again.

Toshiro knew immediately what Momo had done, and he felt a bit foolish. "She used Bakufuku...." He explained. The guard seemed confused, he probably wasn't well versed in kido.

"Hinamori specializes in kido. Sealing her spiritual pressure should have been a no brainer. But we didn't do it..." He trailed off, blaming himself for the oversight.

But could anyone have expected the normally very kind Lieutenant to have done something like this?

Well, if you asked some people they would have said yes. This was the sort of thing that people had expected out of her simply for having Akari's influence.

Toshiro felt that he should have expected this in some way. Well, certainly not on this level. The holes that had been created in the bars and wall were large enough to fit the three soul reapers and then some. There was obviously power behind the attack used to create them.

Momo did in fact have a stubborn streak, and Toshiro knew that better than most. He had grown up with her, he had seen the stubbornness in action a few times. It wasn't always a bad thing, Akari had made sure that all of the children understood that.

The stubborn woman raised stubborn kids it seemed.

Her stubbornness usually wasn't on this level though. Aizen's death really was hitting her hard and that didn't sit well with him. Sure he had been helping her by doing the paperwork that would have otherwise been left for her, but he wasn't there for her when she really needed him. He was letting her deal with her grief on her own.

And now she had escaped.

Toshiro had no doubt that she would be going after Captain Ichimaru and if she tried that on her own, there's no way she would come out unscathed.

"Matsumoto, you go back first." He was trying not to let his emotions come out in his voice again, though there was anger. "I'm going to help Hinamori."

He may have left her to face her grief on her own, but he was not going to let her face Ichimaru on her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not give these characters much of a break. But I really did enjoy writing out the little paperwork part.
> 
> I do have art that I have drawn of some of these characters as well if you would like to see that. Some of it is fairly old because the OC's have existed for quite a bit longer than this particular fanfic has.


	52. Let's Remember Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuro finds someone he is looking for. Angel can't handle seeing shirtless boys.  
> Originally typed in October 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains brief mentions of nudity, violence, blood, transformation against one’s will, injury, attempted self-harm, and stitches. Please read carefully

Blade after blade broke as Ichigo battled against the dark-haired man. He was now bloodied and beginning to get tired, but he kept fighting. He had to.

Angel occasionally checked on him, between her own training sessions. She could have just rested but she couldn't bring herself to sit and do nothing while Ichigo worked so hard.

She stuck to the training regimen that Tessai and Urahara had developed for her before. It still pushed her a fair bit so she figured it was still beneficial to do. If it wasn't, then she likely wouldn't feel sore and tired after she did it.

Yoruichi didn't seem to be against that idea. She still focused on Ichigo much more than anything, but she glanced at Angel every now and again. But Angel didn't notice that to her Yoruichi wouldn't take her eyes off of Ichigo at all.

So, Angel did her best not to interrupt. She set up her own targets to practice with. Rocks were great for practicing with force or powerful attacks.

But rocks were different than living opponents.

Rocks didn't dodge unless they happened to fall over. They didn't fight back or rush at you either. They were not living things and that could make a difference too.

No heartbeat, no faces, no family.

Fighting a living being was much different than fighting against a rock. A rock could be broken, but it could not be killed. There was no heart that could stop beating, no blood that could pour out of wounds.

"That's enough," Yoruichi called out loudly. It was directed at both teenagers. "Training is over for today."

Angel had heard but refused to stop. She didn't feel like she had actually done enough to earn a rest. Placing her targets took up a significant amount of time. To her, it felt like setting up took up more of her time than the actual training did.

It didn't occur to her that moving the large stones was a way of training too.

For a while longer she continued to train, only stopping when Yoruichi physically stopped her. The shadows around Angel's form receded and she finally allowed herself to feel the strain that her body was under.

"If you keep going, then you'll over-do it." Yoruichi chided.

Angel let her body relax and nodded a bit in response.

Yoruichi smiled. "I have a good way for you to relax." She said and started leading Angel to another part of the training area.

Before long they both heard Ichigo yelling in wonder. "My wounds are healing super-fast!! All the pain is gone and all my wounds are healed!! Amazing! So Cool!" He cheered.

Angel realized what this area was and blood started rushing to her face.

It was a hot spring, and Ichigo was there!

Yoruichi didn't seem to realize that Angel was panicking over what was going on, or she did and just didn't care to say anything about it.

Angel's hands covered her cheeks hoping that they would cool down, but it didn't help. She wasn't sure how much more embarrassed she could get.

Her limits were being tested though.

"We'll take a bath too." Yoruichi declared.

Angel squeaked and sputtered, attempting to find an excuse to walk away, and maybe never come back to the area just because she was embarrassed.

Not that seeing Ichigo this way was bad, but she shouldn't look at him that way, right? It wasn't that he looked bad, no that wasn't the problem at all. Ichigo was a very handsome boy, but that was part of her problem with this situation.

Ichigo also got a bit of a shock. He too sputtered and he spits out the water that he'd held in his mouth. "What are you saying?!" His voice cracked a little bit as Yoruichi started to strip. "Why are you taking off your pants?!" He screeched.

Angel's hands moved from covering her red cheeks to covering her cheeks.

Ichigo covered his eyes as well. He did, though he would never admit it, peek between his fingers for a minute.

"Not a problem now, right?" Yoruichi asked. Her voice was the same as when she was in her cat form.

Both Angel and Ichigo uncovered their eyes, though not fully.

The black cat was amused. "So, are you disappointed? Tell me the truth, pervert!" She teased Ichigo.

"Don't make me drown you..." Ichigo grumbled.

Yoruichi ignored him this time and looked at Angel. "Come on now, get in." She prompted the younger girl.

Angel shook her head, face now turned away from the spring. "No! N-no! I'll take a bath later!" She insisted.

Ichigo noticed her now. "But you've been training too, right? Your soreness will just get worse if you let it go." He said and smiled a bit. "I promise that I won't look. I can even keep my back turned to you if that would make you more comfortable." He offered.

He knew that Angel would be embarrassed, but he didn't want to force her to deal with whatever exhaustion or pain she was in for longer than needed when this hot spring could help her. She just had to get in and she would feel better.

Hana Considered Angel to be a sister to her, and Ichigo had come to see her as a sister too. If this was something that would make one of his sisters feel more comfortable then he would do it.

Sure, the situation probably wasn't ideal for her, but he'd do what he could to help.

"There's no use arguing. If you don't get in, you'll be too sore to train tomorrow." Yoruichi scolded Angel.

Angel was still bright red, even as Ichigo turned his back to her and covered his eyes for good measure.

She sunk into the water until it was up to her chin. Any aches and pains she had melted away and she felt relaxed, yet tense at the same time.

Her eyes were trained on a far off spot in the training room so that she wouldn't look at Ichigo. She was tempted to sink down even further so that everything below her nose was covered in water. For now, at least, she was able to resist that urge.

Ichigo kept his back facing Angel and leaned his side against the side of the hot springs. He didn't want to make her feel more uncomfortable than she already was and she was sitting directly across the spring from him.

He eventually cleared his throat, "Hey Yoruichi..." He started.

"Yeah?" The cat responded.

"I was thinking, this place looks a lot like the "training room" under Urahara's shop." Ichigo finished his thought.

The cat glanced at Angel to see how she was doing before speaking. "Ah, it should. That place was probably modeled after this place." She started to explain.

"It was?" Angel asked.

Yoruichi was glad to see her relaxing, even if just a little. "Yeah, this place was built when Urahara and I were young. He dug this place secretly for our combat training." She said.

Ichigo looked at the cat who sat in the water next to him. "Secretly? He dug such a large hole in secret?" He questioned.

Angel listened as the conversation continued. She thought that Yoruichi sounded nostalgic. Like she was reliving happy memories.

She jumped a little as Ichigo suddenly yelled. "Wait, you said the 13 Court Guard Squads! That guy is a soul reaper?!" He screamed.

Yoruichi didn't seem too surprised about his outburst. "You mean Urahara?" She asked.

"It did seem a bit odd that he was able to teach us all the stuff he did." Angel's voice was much softer than Ichigo's as she spoke.

"Tell me, Yoruichi, who is Urahara?" Ichigo demanded more than questioned.

The cat looked at both of the teens. "So he didn't tell you..." She sighed. "That's Urahara for you. There's no point hiding it from you two anymore." She started.

"He is the former captain of the 12th squad. And, he's the founder of the Department of Research and Development." Yoruichi told the two.

Angel looked at the water directly in front of her.

Squad 12 and the Research division...

Both rang a bell for some reason. It pulled at some spot in her mind, but it wouldn't yet come to the surface.

She was still slightly nervous about being in the spring with Ichigo, but she was focusing on something else now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The late hour didn't seem to bother Kuro. He wandered around the Seireitei with a purpose, find _Them._

Still, though, he didn't know who he was looking for.

A familiar spiritual pressure came across his senses, only for a second.

He didn't know who it belonged to, but it was familiar and that was enough to lead him in a new direction. He didn't come across any soul reapers on his way to the source of the spiritual pressure, but that didn't really bother him at all.

No one else seemed to notice the source of spiritual pressure.

The feeling it gave off made him think of light. It gave him the same feeling that standing out in the sun on a bright day.

His tracking abilities made it easy to follow the small trace once he had locked onto it.

Like a shark smelling blood in the water.

He found himself at a cave in a cliffside. It was far off from everything else and it didn't seem like anyone was around.

There was another spiritual pressure inside.

Being wary of any possible traps, Kuro entered the cave. So far there seemed to be nothing to stop him and he wasn't noticed.

A ladder leads him down into a room that seemed endless and his lifeless eyes scanned the expanse of it.

There seemed to be nothing here, at first. But, as he started walking, he spotted three figures. He focused on orange hair first and his body moved before he could think.

_Ryouka! Destroy Ryouka!_

His order repeated in his mind.

Ichigo heard the growl approaching and was able to dodge just in time. "What the hell?! Where did you come from?!" He growled back and went to grab one of the many swords that littered the ground.

Kuro's hand nearly landed on Ichigo's neck before there was an impact against his side. He snarled and roughly grabbed the head red hair person who had tried to stop him.

His fingers tightened to a bruising point and the poor girl looked up at him almost terrified.

Why weren't her shadows working? Why wouldn't they lash out at this guy?

Kuro knew that face! He knew this girl!

He froze and his grip loosened only seconds before he was thrown to the ground.

Ichigo was doing his best to pin the stranger on the ground. He was thrown off with a force that didn't send him far.

Kuro's mind was trying to find the girl's name. A, it started with an A.

Akari? No, no this wasn't Akari.

Angel? Yes, this was Angel!

The girl he teased his brother about.

He rushed toward Angel again but was taken down again.

"Angel! Angel!" His still raspy voice called out to the still terrified girl.

Yoruichi, now the one pinning him, narrowed her eyes.

"How does this guy know you?" Ichigo asked.

Angel stared wide-eyed at the boy in front of her. He was squirming under Yoruichi's grip but not really trying to fight her.

This boy...

This boy was in her dreams!

Suddenly, in all the dreams that she could remember, she could see him clearly. He was there.

"Kuro!" She gasped and just like when she first met Yoruichi's eyes, she lost consciousness.

Ichigo caught her before she hit the ground. "Now she knows him?! How?!" He snapped.

Yoruichi didn't answer him and looked down at Kuro. "If you try to attack again, I'll kill you." She threatened.

Kuro nodded in agreement, not trusting his sore throat to give a loud enough answer. He didn't really care though. He found one of the people he was looking for! He found someone that he could finish telling his warning to!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel remembered.

She didn't remember everything, but she remembered enough.

Kuro was like a brother to her. He was one of the people that she regularly saw in her dreams. He was always keeping an eye on the three other kids in her dreams.

No, definitely memories.

He would tease the other boy and make him snap in embarrassment and annoyance.

But he was always there for them.

And he was supposed to be dead.

Having been turned into a hollow and the boy that was basically his younger brother was the one to have ended his life because of that.

Ange shot up from her place on the ground. "Don't kill him!" Were the first words out of her mouth as her memories ended at Kuro's death.

Had it happened again?

Ichigo jumped and looked at her, he looked like he'd just woken up himself. "We didn't, he's right there." He said and pointed at the brown-haired boy.

Kuro didn't dare move from the spot he'd taken up all night. It was mostly so that he wouldn't be perceived as making an attack.

His eyes held a little more life than before.

Angel jumped up and went to hug him. "Kuro, you're alive!" She cried in relief.

Kuro was a bit slow about it, but he smiled a little and hugged back. The muscle movement in his face as he smiled felt a little awkward like it hadn't been done in forever.

"Guess... so..." He mumbled. He still struggled to get the words out. He had trouble stringing them together and even was having a hard time remembering what words meant what.

He really needed to get more blood flow to his brain or something.

If his blood was truly flowing.

"But, you were a hollow... You were killed." Angel said softly and looked up at Kuro. Only now did she notice the pale skin, stitches, and scars. She reached up to touch the scar across his forehead.

"Someone... decided I... I could be... useful..." His voice was still raspy and his sentences came out choppy and slow.

Ichigo felt the need to intervene now. "Angel, how do you know this guy?" He asked.

Angel, now remembering that Ichigo and Yoruichi were there, turned to face them. She was a bit confused about how she actually knew Kuro.

But she did know him.

"I think that we grew up together. But I feel like that's not possible, I grew up with Chad." She answered.

"So did you know him before you and Chad became siblings?" He questioned.

Kuro cut in. "Don't think... about... about that... right now..." He said. He was now holding his head as he spoke, trying to remember how to say each word. "My message..."

"You mean when you said "don't trust"?" Angel's attention was back on Kuro.

Kuro nodded a little, not moving his hand away from his head. "Don't trust..." He trailed off.

Who couldn't they trust? He had to remember it.

While he didn't know exactly what it was, he knew that the message could save Angel's life.

He growled in frustration and gripped his head harder.

Yoruichi who had been watching this whole time kept her eyes on him. She examined his scars and behavior and came to a conclusion.

His brain had been altered, but he was keeping his past self instead of it being overwritten.

Angel looked over at Yoruichi and Ichigo. "Go ahead and train. I'll be fine with him." She said and gave them a smile.

"You sure about that?" Ichigo worried. The first thing this guy had done was attack them.

Was it really alright to leave Angel with this guy?

"I'm sorry... I still have..." He swallowed, still having trouble, "free will... just have to... have to... think harder..." He paused every so often still.

"It looks like whatever memories he has kept have overridden the programming that he received to go after you, Ichigo." Yoruichi said, "And, should that not last, we're nearby."

Ichigo reluctantly nodded a bit and cast one last glance at Angel and Kuro before following Yoruichi back to his training area. He had to focus and work hard, or he wouldn't be able to achieve bankai.

Angel turned back to Kuro. "Take your time, don't force yourself too hard if it's painful." She tried to soothe her old friend.

Kuro shook his head. "No... I have to tell... tell you..." His fingers dug into the stitches on his head and he started to pull at them.

Angel gasped and grabbed his hands to stop him from hurting himself. "Don't do that!" She snapped. Her hands didn't leave his.

"I wonder if your warning is the same one that Akari gave me. She told me to not trust the captains." Angel mumbled.

Kuro started at her, gears turning in his mind again.

Akari.

That poor woman who, the last time he saw her, could hardly stand on her own due to an injury.

The man who had changed him into a hollow made sure that she was there to watch him transform.

He could now hear that asshole's voice ringing in his ears.

_"This is all your fault, Akari. If you had been a good girl then I wouldn't have to do this."_

Those words hadn't been spoken in an apologetic tone. It had been an amused tone that he used and a cruel smile twisted up his lips.

He could hear Akari's voice now too.

_"Please, please no! Don't hurt him! Don't do this! Aizen, please stop!"_

She had begged and begged, tears running down her face and her body shaking from sobs as the others held her back, not caring that she was bleeding through the shirt she had been wearing.

Aizen!

That's who did this! That's who got him killed!

Kuro gripped Angel's hands and now met her eyes. "Don't trust Aizen." Each word was emphasized in the hopes of making the warning more serious.

He hadn't been able to warn them before, and he hoped that nothing had come of it yet.

Angel was confused, that name meant nothing to her. But it clearly meant a lot to Kuro. He spoke it with such hate.

She'd never heard that name before and didn't know why it should mean something to her.

"Thank you, Kuro." She said.

He found himself frowning at her reaction. He expected something different, she should have known that name.

Did she not remember the captain who'd lost Akari on a "simple hollow extermination mission?"

"You don't r-remember?" He asked. His words slowly started to come out easier.

Angel shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kuro. Right now the most that I remember is about you..." She answered. "I know that there was you, a girl, and a boy that all lived together with your mom." She said. "You used to tease your brother a lot and he would get mad."

Kuro's frown deepened, he too had a memory that was missing a lot of details. For now, even if he didn't know why it was a good thing.

Angel noticed the frown. "It's okay," she said. "you can help me remember everything.

He shook his head. "I hardly remember..." He said softly.

"Then, we'll remember together," Angel said. She still held his hands, afraid that he might start hurting himself again if she let go of them.

Even with his limited memory of his past, he seemed to remember more than she did.

She didn't know if it really even was her past, or something else.

But still, remembering together sure sounded nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a name I've been wanting to drop for so long in this chapter. Maybe you don't see this guy as the garbage being that I've written him as, but honestly I can see him doing crap like this.   
> Also, I didn't entirely mean to make both Angel and Kuro amnesiatic, it just kind of seemed an appropriate way to go with how I had written what had happened to Kuro before.


	53. A Fight Amongst Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toshiro finds Ichimaru, and Momo finds them both.  
> Originally typed in October 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains depictions of canon typical violence, blood, and an unstable mental state.

The time of night didn’t seem to bother a pair who walked the streets of the Seireitei. The Captain and Lieutenant par walked silently. One wore a large smile while the other looked somber.

Both were stopped by the young captain of squad 10, Toshiro. “The two of you are together after all…” He confronted them.

The trio had managed to meet up in the squad 3 courtyard, exactly where Toshiro had expected them to head.

“Just as I thought.” He glared at the two. “Only Kira’s door was opened from the outside. If you broke him out, it wasn’t very smart of you to make it so obvious, Ichimaru.” Toshiro accused the older captain. His eyes only focused on him and didn’t pay much mind to the blond Lieutenant behind him.

Gin continued to smile, not a single twitch showed in his facial muscles. He certainly didn’t seem surprised by the confrontation. “You misunderstood,” he spoke up, “I did that because I wanted people to know.” He explained while his grin shifted to something much more sinister.

Toshiro felt the anger build a bit more. Gin had the gall to admit all of this. But that was all the explanation that he got and that made things more frustrating. He wanted to know exactly why he was doing this.

“It’s a good thing I got here before Momo did.” Toshiro let the anger seep into his voice without care. There was no point in hiding it and trying to block it, even if it was restrained for now.

“Before she gets here,” Toshiro fell into a battle stance and prepared to draw his sword from the sheath on his back, “I’ll kill you.” He growled.

Ichimaru wasn’t fazed and didn’t as much as twitch. There was no need to anyway since someone landed between the two interrupting the would-be battle. Toshiro dropped his guard and his hand fell away from his sword’s hilt.

“Momo!” Toshiro was more than a little surprised to see her so soon. Though, he was more than worried about what would happen if she fought against Ichimaru.

Momo was the only person who had stayed with him, he couldn’t let her get taken away from him like everyone else had been.

Once again, Gin didn’t flinch. Nothing seemed to bother him. Or, at the very least, he was just extremely good at hiding his surprise.

“Finally, I’ve found you…” Momo spoke softly and stood slowly. It was as if she was carefully controlling her movements. As if, if she didn’t, she would immediately attack. “I didn’t think you would be here…”

Toshiro wanted to reach out to her, to grab her shoulders just to get her attention. Something told him that it was a bad idea to do that, so his hand only raised a little bit as if he was going to touch her.

“Momo stop!” He had to keep her from going against Gin. He had to keep her from getting hurt. “He’s too strong for you! Back down and leave this to me!” He ordered.

Momo wasn’t listening, she faced Ichimaru and drew her blade. Toshiro’s voice didn’t fill her with the same familiarity that it used to. No, it only seemed to fuel the rage that was building inside her.

“Momo!” Toshiro called out to her again, hoping to get her attention. He had to snap her out of this.

Only to freeze when she rounded on him, her blade only centimeters away from his face. She was ready to strike, but not to strike Ichimaru.

She was ready to strike Toshiro!

Why would she do this?

His teal eyes widened and stared at her in shock. “Momo…?” He questioned.

Tears brimmed the girl’s eyes as she faced Toshiro. “You’re Captain Aizen’s murderer!!” She accused him.

What?

What possible purpose would Toshiro have had to kill Aizen?

Momo thought back to the letter that Aizen had left for her and began to recite it from memory.

Aizen had said that everything that was currently happening, was happening as a result of Toshiro’s actions, even Kuro’s transformation which had led to his death.

But that wasn’t all.

These events were also supposedly Akari’s doing. Aizen claimed that the woman had been planning this for a long time. He claimed that he had discovered her plan and used the mission the two had gone on as a way to confront her.

She’d received injuries from him but managed to escape and had Toshiro acting on her orders since then.

Momo recited all of this to Toshiro, who didn’t move a muscle. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“That’s really… What Aizen wrote in the letter?” He asked. The gears in his mind spun and spun, trying to process everything Momo had said. It had mentioned a link between him and Akari, which only the Head Captain and the captain of the 4th squad were supposed to know about.

How did Aizen find out about all that? And why would Momo, the girl who had more hope for Akari being seen as a wonderful person than anyone, be so willing to believe that all of this was somehow her doing?

Tears ran down Momo’s cheeks. “Yes… and he wrote at the end; “Tonight, I successfully got him to meet me at the Eastern Holy Wall. I will stop him from succeeding in his plan. If he doesn’t abandon that treacherous woman’s plans, I will fight him to the death.””

It became harder for her to speak through her tears. The hand holding the blade threatening Toshiro began to shake with her poorly contained emotions. Everything threatened to spill over at any second.

Toshiro continued to stare at Momo in disbelief. Had she not thought through what she was doing?

He was hardly able to register when Momo screamed and unleashed a powerful attack at him. He managed to dodge and kept facing her.

He had to snap her out of this. He had to bring her back to herself. “Don’t be stupid, Momo! Stop and think about it!” He yelled from his place across the battlefield. “Because he died, he wants you to fight his battle? Do you really think Aizen would write something like that?!”

He moved back as she attacked him again, but he refused to attack her. Instead, he continued to try and talk some sense into her. Nothing seemed to reach her.

“I don’t want to believe it either!” Despite those words, Momo continued to attack. “But, it’s what Captain Aizen wrote! I have to do this, for Captain Aizen after everything he’s done for me!”

She was trying to convince herself as much as she was him.

Momo sobbed again and stopped her attack for a minute. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Shiro…” She confessed.

Her emotions were all over the place and she had no control over them.

Everything was so messed up. The person who had helped her through so much was gone, dead, and the main suspect was Toshiro. The sweet, but grumpy and stubborn, boy that she had grown up with. To make it worse, it was supposedly by order of the kind woman who had taken her in and raised her.

Who should she believe?

Toshiro didn’t know what to say this time. It didn’t seem that he would be able to reach her while she was in this state.

“Is it really so hard to believe that he would do something like killing Captain Aizen? I mean, he did kill Kuro…” Gin said just hardly loud enough for the girl to hear.

It broke her further.

Momo let out an anguished scream and unleashed another powerful attack directed at Toshiro.

That’s right, he did kill Kuro. Kuro was fighting back the hollow side, he could have made it. But Toshiro had killed him!

It all made sense in her confused mind.

Anger, grief, desperation, disbelief, denial, and sadness all collided within her mind making it impossible for her to think straight. She couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard she tried.

Aizen wouldn’t have written anything in that letter, Toshiro was sure of that. Someone must have changed his will to make him and Momo fight like this.

Only one person came to mind as a possible culprit.

Toshiro looked down at the other Captain, who he hadn’t heard speak and who hadn’t moved. The sinister smile he’d held this entire time stayed in place if it hadn’t grown a bit more sinister.

Toshiro didn’t know that Gin had spoken with the sole purpose of riling Momo up more, but he knew that something was up.

The white-haired captain grit his teeth in anger. “I see…” Rage, not just anger, built up inside him. “This was all part of your scheme, Ichimaru!!” He roared.

His focus was fully on the other captain, and he went to draw his blade, just like he had done before. But, once again, Momo interrupted by stepping between them. Her movements were more desperate now as she attacked him once more.

There was no way Toshiro could dodge this attack. The only option left was to attack back.

Toshiro would never use his zanpakutou against Momo, so his hand left his blade. That didn’t mean that he didn’t attack though, he hit her. He hit her hard enough that she lost consciousness and fell to the ground. It was the only option that he could come up with.

It had been a last resort, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t feel horrible about doing it. He had regretted it immediately.

“Momo!” He called to see if she would answer. She didn’t but he could see that she didn’t seem hurt.

“Oh my,” Gin sighed. “The captain of squad 10 is so cruel.” He taunted. “There’s no need to hit that hard, the girl clearly lost her mind to her emotions.” He gave another sigh and shook his head, but the smile never left his face.

“How would your dear mother feel about you two fighting like this?” He continued to taunt. “Though your behavior is fitting to hers, isn’t it?”

Toshiro felt even more rage. This was all because of Ichimaru, it was more obvious than before now.

Gin had mentioned Akari, though not by name, and so had the letter. Gin knew what his relationship to her was which was even more suspicious. How had he found out about that?

Toshiro’s jaw clenched and his teeth ground together harder than before. “What are you trying to do?” He forced out.

He was trying to hold back his rage as much as he could, just for the moment. “Not just Aizen… Momo too… You made her suffer so much pain…” He growled a little. “It was to the point that she held her zanpakutou so tight that her hands bled…”

The thread holding back his rage continued to thin. He had inherited a bit of a temper from Akari and it was starting to come out now. Though, he seemed to have better control over his temper than she did.

Gin hadn’t moved. “Oh? I’m afraid that I do not understand.” He said calmly.

Toshiro turned to face him, this time he didn’t hesitate and fully grabbed the hilt of his sword. “I told you, Ichimaru.” His anger now fully came to the surface. “If you made Momo shed even one drop of blood, I’d kill you!” He snarled.

His spiritual pressure flared around him.

Gin only seemed more amused and readied to attack as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akari stopped walking and clenched her fist.

Why was he getting into a fight right now?

It was the only conclusion she could reach about why he would release his spiritual pressure like that.

The once clear sky clouded over and the ambient temperature cooled substantially. A chill went up her spine because of it.

And not just because of the cooler temperature, but because this was the first time that she had actually seen his powers in action like this and she wasn’t even too near her.

How his spiritual pressure ended up so wildly different than hers, she would never understand.

There was a dilemma that she was facing, she always seemed to be facing one. She wanted to go and see what was going on, but if she did then there was a high chance that she would interfere.

And be caught because of it.

But, she never considered herself the brightest. She would at the very least, check on him.

Akari landed on the roof of the squad 3 barracks and quickly found the source of the commotion.

Gin Ichimaru and Toshiro Hitsugaya were in a battle. Toshiro had managed to immobilize one of the other captain’s arms with ice.

“You’re done for, Ichimaru!” Toshiro roared.

Akari’s face twisted in worry. Her boy was strong, but Ichimaru was someone who always had tricks up his sleeves.

Gin didn’t waste time putting one of his tricks into play. His extending blade.

Toshiro dodged at the last possible second before turning the direction that the blade was headed.

That’s when Akari noticed the other person laying in the courtyard.

Momo!

Akari couldn’t move fast enough, couldn’t move at all really. She nearly felt her heart stop.

But, when she couldn’t move, someone else stepped in.

Rangiku Matsumoto saved Momo’s life when Akari couldn’t.

The woman wasn’t a stranger to Akari, they had been in the same squad for Akari’s entire career. Rangiku had tried for a while to include Akari in things that she would do, tried to be friends with her.

It had been bad Akari’s fault that they didn’t become friends, with her distrust and stubbornness at the time.

Rangiku wasn’t a bad person, and Akari owed her a lot.

Even if Rangiku didn’t know it.

Akari took a deep, shaky breath and covered her mouth as if to hold in her feelings.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Momo and Toshiro were supposed to be kept safe!

That was part of the deal, the only condition that kept her working under Aizen the way that she was.

Gin lowered his sword and regained his formerly lost smile. “Oh my, this had become too crowded for me. Besides, it seems that I’ve gained a new audience member.” He looked over in the direction that Akari stood.

He knew that she would appear, but she was more well-behaved than expected. “Time to go back to your cage, little bird.” He called over to her.

She was surprised that he didn’t decide to just reveal her right then and there while everything was already so volatile. She flinched a little bit before taking off, otherwise, he could decide to hurt them all even more.

What the others saw was a shadow leap away from the building, too shaded for there to be anything recognizable about them. But, it was someone that Gin apparently had control over them.

Gin glanced back at Toshiro and tutted. “You have your mother’s temper, but I’m sure you know that already.” With that said, he disappeared.

Toshiro and Rangiku didn’t waste time wondering who the other person had been for now. They rushed Momo to the infirmary.

They could wander about it later.

Though, Toshiro had an idea of who it was, after that last sentence that Gin had said.

That shadow had to have been Akari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the closest Toshiro that Akari has been since she supposedly died, at least as far as he knows.


	54. One and Only Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rangiku heard Gin's comment about Toshiro's mother. Akari wonders what she should do. Kuro and Angel spend some time together.  
> Originally typed in October 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains a little bit of violence, mentions of self-harm, and mentions of death. Please tell me if there’s another warning you need to be added to this chapter.

The squad 10 captain and lieutenant watched over the squad 5 lieutenant who laid unconscious in an infirmary bed. She had been there for a while now, but the two hadn’t left her.

Toshiro was relieved that she seemed alright, and he was relieved that Rangiku had turned up when she did. He didn’t look up at her when he finally spoke. “Thank you, Matsumoto…” He said quietly.

Rangiku frowned a little bit, thinking back to what had happened. “My pleasure…” She wasn’t sure how to feel about everything that had happened.

Toshiro was thinking back as well, to the contents of the letter that Momo had recited to him. The letter that Aizen had supposedly written, at the very least Gin had only edited parts of it. Which parts of it were true and which parts had been rewritten? Obviously the part about this all being a plan that Toshiro was putting into motion was a lie. But could he say the same for Akari?

She had been there, it had to have been her, and she hadn’t stepped in to help. Was the part about it being her plan true?

He took a breath. No, he didn’t believe that part was true. Even if he was bitter towards Akari about everything that had happened and everything that she missed, he didn’t think that she would do something like this. She’d taught him to be a bit cautious of those in charge and to occasionally question them. But she’d never tried to teach them to entirely go against those in charge, or even to harm them.

She’d just wanted them to be cautious, she claimed.

Nothing about the behavior he’d seen or even heard of truly suggested that she would do anything like this.

Toshiro doubted that the part about Akari was true.

Rangiku looked over at her captain with a question in mind. She’d had this question since the incident the night before. Something Gin had said got under her skin and made her curious.

_"You have your mother's temper, but I'm sure you know that already."_

She’d never heard anything about her captain having a mother before. Very few soul reapers ever did. But now she was curious about it. Should she ask about it?

After another minute she decided that she would say something about it. “Captain, I apologize if this is a personal matter, but I didn’t know that you had a mother.” She spoke up.

Toshiro’s jaw clenched a bit at that statement. He’d nearly forgotten that Gin had mentioned it in front of Rangiku. He had almost expected her to not bring it up.

Should he tell her?

Rangiku was someone that he could trust, but he still worried about the response he might get. He’d spent so long with it being a secret and it was engraved into his mind that he would be treated badly for being her son.

He took a deep breath before speaking. “That’s how she wanted it to be…” He trailed off.

“Why would she want to hide you?” Rangiku questioned. She knew her captain wasn’t a bad person, so why would anyone raising him want to hide him away? The only family of his that she knew about was Momo, Kuro, and their grandmother.

She knew that much, but never knew about his mother. Or, rather, their mother. She supposed that if they all shared the same grandmother, they shared the same mother.

“It wasn’t because my existence would have harmed her reputation. At least, that’s what she told me.” Toshiro continued his explanation. He wasn’t sure yet if he would regret this, but he wanted to talk about it for once.

“She said that it was to protect my reputation. That she didn’t want people to treat me like they treated her just because I was her son.” He sighed a bit and adjusted his posture just a little bit.

Rangiku watched him. He seemed so vulnerable, something he rarely showed. Perhaps she shouldn’t push this more. “You don’t have to say anything more.” She tried to comfort him.

Toshiro shook his head a little to show her that he was fine with talking about this. It almost felt wrong to tell her. “My mother… I’m sure you knew her. She was on squad 10.” He refused to look at his lieutenant.

Rangiku was a bit shocked by that fact and stopped to think about it. Did she know anyone who had ever had or taken in a child? She couldn’t think of any instance of someone in the squad adopting a child, but there was one person who had been rumored to have had a child…

Oh…

Oh!

“Captain, would you happen to be talking about Akari Ren?” Rangiku asked.

Toshiro sighed. “Yes, she’s my mother.” He admitted.

Rangiku could understand why the fact that he was related to her was kept secret now. She had heard about Akari before and heard the things people said about her.

_If she really had a kid, I feel sorry for it. She probably doesn’t take care of it at all._

_She probably beats the shit out of it._

Rangiku couldn’t recall ever joining in on the jeers, but she never defended the red-haired woman.

But she couldn’t help but think about those comments now. She wondered if there was any truth to them. “Captain… Was she…?” She wasn’t sure how to ask.

“Was she a cruel and abusive woman?” Toshiro finished the question for her. He’d heard the things people said as well.

Rangiku nodded, feeling almost shameful to have asked such a thing.

“To be honest, she’s far from what I have heard people assume she would be like. No, she wasn’t cruel. I wasn’t beaten, and when she couldn’t look after me herself she made sure I was with my grandmother, someone that she trusted would take good care of me.” Toshiro answered. He felt exhausted just talking about this.

“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone else about this…” He told her.

Rangiku could understand why he might not want it brought up, especially when the woman had turned up supposedly being an intruder. “Of course I’ll keep it to myself, Captain.” She assured him.

Toshiro went quiet again, allowing both captain and lieutenant to fall back into their individual thoughts.

Until a hell butterfly fluttered up to them.

“The following message is for all captains and lieutenants. The convict Rukia Kuchiki’s execution date has once again been changed. The time of the execution has been set to exactly 29 hours from now. This decision is final. The date will not change again. Over and out.” The announcement came through the butterfly.

It was matching up too well with what had been written in that letter.

Toshiro wasted no time and headed out. Planning to stop the execution and, by extension, Ichimaru’s plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite desperately wanting to confront both Gin and Aizen on what had happened with Momo and Toshiro the night before, Akari didn’t.

She wandered around slowly for the night and felt exhausted once the sun came up as thoughts ran through her head.

Was Aizen not going to hold up his end of the deal?

That was a possibility.

This thought frustrated her and there she decided. One more time, one more incident, and she was done. The deal would be over.

Whatever that would mean for her.

The announcement of the execution change came as no surprise to her. After all, she knew exactly who was calling the shots on that decision.

She refused to return to the “house of death” for the time being. Instead, she found herself sitting at the edge of a tree line that she had found. The gears continued to turn in her mind.

What would she do if she broke the deal? She couldn’t run to protect Toshiro and Momo, there was no way that was possible. If she did that then she would be arrested and no one would believe a word that she would tell them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel was still spending time with Kuro. That wasn’t all that she was doing though. She was training again, now with his help.

Through speaking with Angel the short time they’d found each other, his speech patterns had improved and he had remembered a little more.

He was searching for the other two that Angel could not fully remember from her dreams. But, he was content in staying with Angel for now.

Ichigo was once again training with his sword’s spirit. Angel and Kuro were training together. It felt like they had only just started when something crashed through the ceiling above them.

Kuro was in front of Angel in an instant, automatically protecting her, while the entire group stared down the intruder.

“I was wondering what you could be doing in this place. Is that the true form of your Zanpakutou? So you’re hiding here and training for bankai? That sounds interesting.” The person spoke.

He stepped out of the smoke that he’d created with a smile. “Count me in.” He declared.

It was one of the two that Angel had seen come to take Rukia away that one night.

Ichigo seemed to know his name now.

Was he going to attack them?

The spiky, red-haired guy smirked at the group. “”What are you doing here” Is probably what you want to say.” He was explaining without prompting what he was doing there. “The reason is simple, we don’t have much time left. So I was looking for a place to train in.”

All had the same question but only Ichigo voiced it. “What do you mean by “no time”?”

Renji acted as if he wasn’t sure whether or not to tell them, but only for a minute. “Alright, I’ll tell you. Rukia’s execution date has been changed again.” He looked over the group again. “The execution will take place at noon tomorrow.” He told them.

Angel gasped, noon tomorrow? Would they be ready to do this in time?

She began to doubt herself again. Was there really any way that she could help during all of this?

Kuro noticed and put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s just keep training.” He said. There was still a raspiness to his voice that wouldn’t seem to go away.

Angel hesitated but nodded. She wouldn’t be alone for this, hopefully.

“Do you think that Akari woman will help us?” She asked Kuro, a blade made of shadow blocking Kuro’s as he attacked her.

Kuro simply hummed at first. “I think she will…” He said.

The two stopped fighting as Kuro thought. “If I remember right… She’s had it set up to where she’s helpless to help but… I think she’ll eventually break out of it.” He said. He was sure of that.

Angel thought back to the woman who had hidden them. She seemed so lost, but she’d already helped them once. Was it possible that she was still helping them without them knowing about it?

Kuro sighed a bit and stretched. This whole situation was wild, how much more could everyone take?

He still needed to find the others, but he didn’t know for sure if he should leave Angel. He continued to train with her, insisting that she focus on using the blade made of shadow instead of the bullets that she had been training with before.

She found it a little easier and more comfortable to work with. Even with the odd vibrations that went through her hand when her blade of shadows met Kuro’s blade which had a serrated edge.

She slammed a punch into his abdomen when she saw an opening and immediately apologized for it.

Kuro smiled a little bit and shook his head. “Didn’t hurt, nothing really does.” He told her. “Just be careful, you can’t just stop fighting and apologize to your opponent.”

Angel puffed out her cheeks and pouted. “I know that, but you’re not an enemy. You’re my friend!” She declared.

Kuro sighed. “Yes, I know that. But treat me as an enemy while we’re training.” He scolded her.

Angel still pouted. “I can’t do that…” She said.

Kuro tried not to sigh again, Angel was a kind person. But he knew that sometimes the ones who you trusted ended up being the ones that you have to fight.

“Angel, do you remember what happened to me?” He asked.

Angel nodded a bit. “Our friend killed you…” She trailed off. The whole situation bothered her a bit.

“He was right to do it. If he hadn’t then I would have kept attacking others. I could have killed you.” Kuro explained. He sheathed his sword and walked up to Angel.

“Sometimes your friends are who you’ll end up fighting, and not always because they’ve secretly been an enemy.” He continued.

Angel was still bothered by that fact, but she supposed that it was the truth. “I get it, but that doesn’t mean that I like it.” She said.

Kuro hummed in understanding. “I understand how you feel. But, as a warrior, it’s a reality we tend to face.” He gestured over at Renji. “Take that guy for instance, he no doubt has friends in the ranks of soul reapers. But he’s planning to fight some of them in order to save another. He surely doesn’t enjoy that, but he believes that what he’s fighting for is right.”

Angel looked over at Renji who was also training his bankai.

Even if he wasn’t going to be fighting friends, he at the very least would be fighting his colleagues.

Angel had begun to wonder, if she really had memories of this place, then had she already fought someone who considered her a friend?

“Kuro, are there any others who considered me friends here?” She asked.

Kuro plopped himself down on the ground, seeing as it didn’t seem that they would be back to sparring for a bit now. “Yes, of course, there are. Remembering who they were is kind of hard still, but people liked you.” He rubbed his temple as if trying to remember.

“Of course those two liked us, obviously…” He mumbled.

“The other two in my dreams, right?” Angel asked.

Kuro nodded.

“I wish that I knew who they were…” She sighed and sat down as well.

“Yeah, me too… They still need the warning…” Kuro said.

“If it’s such an important thing, why didn’t you tell others?” Angel questioned.

“I don’t think that they would have believed me… Something tells me that they wouldn’t.” He answered.

Angel busied herself for a moment by pulling her hair out of the low ponytail that it was in and combing her fingers through it. She was nervous but had to get through it. She pulled her hair back into another low ponytail and looked at Kuro who was tapping his temple in thought.

He’d done this since they had re-met. Whenever he was trying to remember, he would sit and tap at his temple.

It was loads better than him trying to rip off his skin or rip out his stitches.

Maybe they should get back to training, but Angel didn’t want to interrupt Kuro’s thinking, especially if he was able to remember something.

She looked over at Ichigo, he was still training. Another sword broke in his attack against his zanpakutou spirit, but he didn’t give up.

Ichigo never seemed to give up on anything it seemed. It was another thing that Angel admired about him.

She tried to be someone like that, someone that never gave up. But, it was difficult. There was always something that made her want to give up.

Kuro stopped thinking and noticed the look that Angel was giving Ichigo. He raised an eyebrow. “That’s quite a look.” He said.

Angel blinked and turned back to Kuro. “What do you mean?” She asked.

“The look that you were giving Mr. Orange over there. You like him, don’t you?” Kuro questioned.

Angel’s face lit up red and she sputtered in embarrassment. Was she that obvious about her crush?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She defended herself.

Kuro smirked. “Doesn’t seem that way to me~.” He sang.

Angel pouted, face still bright red. “Ichigo is great but… I-I don’t like him like that! Maybe we should go back to training.” She tried to change the subject.

Kuro laughed a little and got up. “Alright, alright. Let’s get to it then.” He unsheathed his sword again.

Angel was still red and let her shadows reform into a sword. “Thank you…” She tried to calm her still fast-beating heart. She’d never really been confronted about her crush on Ichigo before.

She obviously didn’t handle it too well, but she could have handled it worse.

But Kuro wouldn’t let it go and continued to taunt and tease Angel throughout the training. This made Angel a bit more aggressive in her attacks. Though, when they paused, she would still apologize.

Yoruichi glanced over at Renji then at Kuro and Angel. At least the small little rescue group weren’t the only ones fighting to save Rukia.

There was still the worry that this wouldn’t be enough. The worry that they would fail and that Aizen would succeed. If that happened, then they would all be doomed.

Her focus went back to Ichigo. He still had a long way to go but was improving rapidly.

Tomorrow they would have to act, they had no choice.

This was their one and only chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I write my chapters in a notebook before typing them, before now I have filled exactly one full 5 subject notebook with Entwined Lives. As of this chapter, I have filled two 5 subject notebooks with this fanfic. I've also gone through maybe four of my favorite writing pens in the past year.  
> Anyway, please enjoy!


	55. Jailbreak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're back to Hana and the boys. They meet up with Orihime again too!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot think of any warnings needed for this chapter. If you think otherwise, please let me know.

While imprisoned in the cell with the three boys, Hana passed the time in her inner world. It was all she could think to do. The boys had nothing to do and seemed to stare into space or try to find things to distract them. They left Hana alone while she was inside her inner world, which she was thankful for.

Belladonna was silent a majority of the time, not that she was a talkative being before this.

Hana was content in examining the flowers that were growing in her world. She thought that if she could identify them, then she could better know what abilities that Belladonna held.

It continued this way for a while. Hana occasionally spoke to Belladonna but was otherwise fine with the silence of her zanpakutou. It was something that she was comfortable with.

Shouting eventually pulled her out of her inner world. Uryu and Ganju were arguing, for some reason that she didn’t register yet.

“Then don’t call me by my first name! Also, stop bothering me!” Uryu shouted at Ganju.

“Bothering other people is what Shiba’s do best! Stay away if you don’t like it!” Ganju yelled back.

Hana sighed, she was still sitting on the bunk that she’d been placed on earlier. She supposed that the time being stuck in the small cell together was getting on everyone’s nerves.

It didn’t help that they were stuck in a stressful situation.

Chad stayed quiet, unsurprisingly.

Hana tried to wait out the yelling, she was used to loud noises like this. Between her brother and father, there was a lot of loudness in her family. This was quite similar to that, actually. If only they were actually physically confronting each other, it would be more like being at home.

It was when Chad shushed the two bickering boys and spoke up that Hana became a little suspicious.

“Do you hear a ruckus somewhere?” Chad asked.

Uryu and Ganju stopped their argument and listened carefully to the environment around them.

Without the yelling from them, Hana could hear it.

“Now that you mentioned it…” Ganju trailed off.

“It sounds like it’s getting closer.” Hana worried a bit. She had no idea what was going on up there. Maybe it was Ichigo coming to get them out of the cell, but she got the feeling that it wasn’t the case at all.

The ruckus went quiet and Hana glanced around suspiciously. A moment later, the ceiling above them suddenly had a hole broken through it. Debris and dust fell to the ground.

Uryu and Ganju screeched. Hana yelped and pulled herself as close to the wall by her bunk as she could. It was all that she could do with her hands restrained the way that they were.

The boys stood, almost as if ready to fight.

“What happened?! What happened?!” Uryu shouted.

Once they got a look at the person who had crashed into the cell, they froze.

The man was a giant and was wearing a captain’s haori. Ganju seemed to know who the man was better than any of the other three.

He was freaking out. “Kenpachi Zaraki!! Captain of squad 12!!” He screeched.

“And,” a voice spoke up behind the man. That’s all that he said.

Partially because Ganju screeched again. “You’re that self-absorbed guy with the girly hairstyle!”

Hana frowned, honestly she would have pulled Ganju’s ear if she wasn’t handcuffed. “Ganju, that’s not nice!” She scolded.

Ganju didn’t care, he was still ranting to the guy with the eyelash accessories.

There was another guy too, this one was bald.

But, Hana quickly got distracted when Orihime popped up over the giant’s shoulder.

“Uryu, Chad, Hana, Ganju! You’re all safe, I’m so glad!” She cheered.

“Orihime!” Uryu seemed both shocked and relieved to see her.

“Hime!” Hana smiled brightly, happy to see that her friend was doing well. She didn’t seem to be injured either! She moved away from the wall and to the edge of the bunk again but stayed there. Her body was still a little shaky and she didn’t trust that she wouldn’t hurt herself trying to get down.

The soul reapers freed the group of their handcuffs and Chad helped Hana down.

“Thank you.” She smiled.

Orihime hugged the other girl. “It’s so nice to see you again! But where’s Angel, wasn’t she with you?” She asked.

Hana glanced over at Chad to see how he reacted to that before answering. “We’re not entirely sure, we got separated when we were brought here and she wasn’t with us.” She answered.

Orihime’s smile faltered for a second but she remained cheerful. “I’m positive that she’ll be fine.” She assured and now noticed how Hana’s body shook and shivered. “You’re shaking.” She pointed out.

The older girl gave her own smile trying to reassure her friend. “I just over-exerted myself, that's all.” She tried to placate the worry.

“Then maybe we should leave her here, we can’t be slowed down… more than we already will be…” The bald soul reaper said. The last part was mumbled under his breath.

Chad hummed a bit and looked over the two girls. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll look out for her.” He told the others.

Hana smiled a little and shook her head. “Thank you, but if I’m going to be a burden-“

Orihime cut her off. “You’re not a burden! We need your help!” She tried to convince Hana. She then shoved a soul reaper uniform at Hana. “Now get changed!”

Hana blinked and glanced at the guys in the room. “Um…” She mumbled.

Orihime noticed and spread out her arms as if shielding Hana. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they can’t see!” She offered.

Hana sighed and nodded a little and took the chance while the guys were changing to change her own clothes.

With everyone ready, she found herself being given a piggy-back ride by Chad.

“You really don’t have to do this, you were injured and are still recovering.” She tried to argue, but Chad wasn’t listening and the group took off through the Seireitei.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group quickly discovered the squad 11 lieutenant’s horrible sense of direction. They weren’t sure what to say for a minute.

So this is what the bald man, who Hana now knew was Ikaku, meant when he mentioned already losing time.

The first one to say anything was Uryu. “Well… Trying to find one’s way around here really needs a lot of luck…” He was exasperated.

Orihime, ever her usual cheerful self, gave him a bright smile. “Yes! It’s quite normal to run into dead ends ever 10 to 20 meters!” She said happily.

“It certainly seems like a maze…” Hana agreed.

Ikaku was less kind in how he addressed it. “See, I told you this would happen!” He snapped. “This is why I hate letting the Lieutenant lead!”

The pink-haired little girl on Kenpachi’s shoulder didn’t appreciate that and launched herself at Ikaku to gnaw on his head.

“Ah!” Hana gasped and reached out a hand in that direction. “No, please don’t do that! It’s not nice!” Her tendency for dealing with children acted up.

Yachiru wasn’t listening, she continued to gnaw on the other soul reaper’s head.

While Hana was trying to diffuse that situation, Kenpachi and Yumechika noticed that the group wasn’t the only people in the area.

A group of four soul reapers appeared on a roof nearby. Two of them appeared to be captains.

Hana gulped, thinking back to the fight with Kyoraku. Chad had been able to do nothing against one captain, now there were two people of that level in front of them. Her hands gripped Chad’s shoulders a bit tighter.

The other member of the group, who the lieutenant had earlier called Maki Maki, was trembling.

“Where are you taking the drifters?” The captain with a visor over his eyes spoke up. “Zaraki, have you lost your pride and righteousness when you lost that fight?” He questioned coldly.

“C-Captain Komamura…. Captain Tousen… Lieutenant Iba… And Lieutenant Hisagi… No… No way… Four captain-level people at once!” He was not hiding his fear well if he was even bothering to try and hide it.

Yumechika tried to reassure the man. “Stop panicking, Aramaki!! Based on the number of people, we have the upper hand.”

“That’s not the problem!” Aramaki snapped. “If we stay here we’ll-“

Kenpachi cut him off. “Stop whimpering! Who said that you are going to fight?” He sounded excited.

The other soul reapers confronting the group seemed confused.

Kenpachi grinned, “Four versus one… That’s not even enough to test my sword with!” He roared excitedly.

Kenpachi told the others to leave, Yachiru smiled and waved at her captain. “Kenny! We’ll go on and search for Ichi! Catch up with us soon, Kenny!” She called out.

The man didn’t look back when he answered. “Yeah, be right there.”

Hana worried about the situation, should they really leave Kenpachi to fight like this? She didn’t have any say in the situation though so she kept quiet. That man knew more about the workings of the soul society than any of the rescue group seemed to.

Except maybe Yoruichi.

Yachiru ran past them with a big smile. “Okay, let’s go!”

Orihime tried to object, but the little girl didn’t listen.

“Big Booby! Big Bear! Wrestler Guy! Pencil Guy! Jelly Legs!” Yachiru called out nicknames for each person as she grabbed Orihime’s hand and started dragging her away.

The rest of the group followed after her. But, they still weren’t sure about leaving Kenpachi.

“Yachiru! Wait up, Yachiru! Is it really okay to leave Kenpachi behind like that?” Orihime asked.

Yachiru seemed to pout for a second before smiling brightly. “Of course! No matter who the opponent is, Kenny won’t ever lose!!” She declared happily.

“You really have faith in him, don’t you?” Hana asked.

Yachiru nodded in affirmation. “Yup! I know that Kenny will never lose!” She repeated.

An ominous noise rang through the air but the group kept running.

“What is that noise?” Hana asked.

“Ah, the execution started?” Yachiru didn’t seem to be answering her so much as questioning herself.

“Eh?! Then if we don’t hurry…!” Uryu trailed off.

“Then I’ll go on ahead, okay?” Yachiru asked them.

“Huh?! Why?!” Both Hana and Orihime chorused.

Yachiru didn’t look at them but touched a finger to her chin. “I don’t really care about the execution, but Ichi may be there. I have to help Ichi.” She said.

Hana wasn’t sure why this girl wanted to help Ichigo, but she appreciated it.

Orihime beat Hana to thanking Yachiru, and the girl just giggled.

“Weird! Why is Big Booby saying thanks? I’m supposed to help Ichi because Ichi is Kenny’s friend.” She said.

The group stopped running, but Yachiru didn’t. “I’m off then! I’ll take care of all the strong guys! You get all the small fries, okay?” She called back to them. Before anyone could answer her, she was off in a flash leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.

Uryu and Ganju muttered about how fast she was while Hana let out a soft laugh.

This place was full of surprises.

Hana squirmed a bit and managed to get Chad to put her down. “Now you all listen to me. Right now, I can’t fight. I’ll be a liability. You go ahead and leave me here.” She ordered her friends.

The four looked at her in shock and Orihime went to speak but Hana cut her off.

“Do not argue with me! Go now! There’s no time for this, go!” She yelled.

The others hesitated for a second before taking off running again, leaving Hana there.

She sighed and leaned against a wall, relieving her still shaking legs of some weight. She was still feeling weak, but her condition had improved since those odd handcuffs were taken off.

But, she was still in no condition to fight. The most she could be right now was sideline support.

Perhaps she could help those that she found injured get to someone who could help them. She could help both sides that way, and reduce the number of people who were gravely affected by the fighting.

It was all she could think of to do, other than trust that the others would help her brother and Rukia.

Yachiru and the others of squad 11 helped her trust that there would be more help found here than they originally thought. They gave her more faith that Rukia would be saved.


	56. One Last Trick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Rukia's execution, almost everyone finds their way to Ichigo. We have a few "big sad" moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains violence, blood, injury, mental break downs, rage episodes, mentions of death, and suicidal thinking.

Renji, Ichigo, and Yoruichi had left already. Kuro and Angel were to hang back and then later leave to find the others.

It made Angel twitchy, even though it wasn’t long before they left as well.

Ichigo had already started his confrontation to stop Rukia’s execution when Kuro and Angel headed up the staircase to Sokyouku Hill.

Voices could be heard coming up behind them so Kuro stopped and drew his blade, ready to fight. Angel stopped close to Kuro, not yet willing her shadows to act, and she was soon happy that she didn’t.

The faces that showed up behind them were familiar.

She ran up and met her brother with a hug. “You’re okay!!” She cried.

Chad seemed shocked that she was there, and he wasn’t the only one.

Orihime, Uryu, and Ganju all paused once they saw the red-head. It was a relief that she was alright. But, they were all concerned with the fight that Ichigo had engaged in. They were briefly curious about Kuro but didn’t bring it up.

“There’s no time for reunions! Keep moving!” Kuro snapped.

The group nodded in agreement, happily accepting help from another person. They continued to move forward, trying to push through Ichigo’s massive spiritual pressure. There was a forest at the top of the stairs that made them stop though.

“Are they on the other side of this white forest?” Ganju asked.

“That’s definitely Ichigo’s spiritual pressure. No matter how strong it gets, I can tell that it is.” Orihime spoke.

Angel nodded. “Ichigo made his move not too long ago…” She told them.

The group continued conversing, each doing their best to try and hide the worry they were feeling. They didn’t seem to notice when Kuro froze on the spot.

He felt another burst of spiritual pressure through Ichigo’s. It was one that he was familiar with and the way it flared had him feeling terrified for an unknown reason.

Once the freezing episode passed he pulled Angel out of the conversation that the others were in and firmly held her shoulders. “Angel, I have to go.” He told her. “Something is very wrong, it’s with someone I know.” He said.

Angel blinked in confusion but nodded. “I’ll be fine with my friends, so go.” She told him.

Kuro didn’t give her a response and took off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akari was a fair distance from Soukyoku Hill, avoiding it. She felt sorry for Rukia and she hoped that Angel and her friends were doing well and that they would survive this.

She still avoided confronting Aizen and Ichimaru, unsure how it would go or what she would say. She put it off so long that now she was sure that it was too late. This seemed to be the endgame.

With a sigh, she continued to wander, it might be too late but maybe she could still talk to them. So now, she headed toward the “House of Death” at a leisurely pace.

If she ran then someone might wonder why.

When she felt the massive release of spiritual pressure from Toshiro, she almost didn’t think anything of it at first. Everyone’s seemed to be flaring at that point. But, it was where it was coming from that made her panic.

No…

Why was he there?!

Aizen what there!!

No!

She now flash stepped in the direction of the “House of Death” or as it was known to everyone else, Central 46. She arrived just in time to see the Ice around the large entrance room begin to collapse.

And then she saw Toshiro fall.

Her heart nearly stopped for a second before she rushed over to him. “Toshiro!”

Aizen didn’t even spare her a glance, he continued to speak without a care.

Akari couldn’t process his words, it was like rushing water filled the air around her. Her shaking hands carefully turned Toshiro onto his back and she tried her hardest not to sob as she got to touch her son for the first time in decades.

Fat tears rolled down her face and fell onto his as she looked into his dull eyes that looked at nothing.

Someone touched her head and she looked up to see Aizen’s false concern as he finally acknowledged her presence. His touch seemed to chase away the rushing water just long enough for her to hear him.

“Oh dear, you weren’t supposed to find them yet.” He said.

_Them?_

_THEM?!_

It took another second for her to process the meaning of those words. Her eyes searched the room wildly and she quickly found Momo’s body a small distance away.

She wasn’t moving.

This time, the sobs did come out. Her eyes flicked between the two of her children that were so hurt. She was trying to figure out what to do, but there was nothing she could do.

Healing kido was something she was ever able to do, and because of that, she could do nothing to help them right now.

She crawled over to Momo, the rushing water was back and she was unable to register her surroundings other than Toshiro and Momo. She ripped the sleeves off of her uniform and fruitlessly tried to get Momo’s bleeding to stop before moving and trying to do the same for Toshiro’s wounds.

_He lied, he really lied!!_

Another touch, this time to her shoulder, suddenly made her aware of her surroundings again and the water was once again pushed away. Akari’s first response was to cover Toshiro’s body with his own in an attempt to protect him. He was the closest one to her, and so the only one she could try to protect this way.

“Please… Don’t… Not again!!” She sobbed.

“Akari, they need to be healed.” The voice that spoke to her wasn’t Aizen.

Akari looked up to see the person who had told her that she was pregnant. The person to take care of all of Toshiro’s checkups when he was little. The person she trusted to take care of her family’s medical needs.

“Captain… Unohana…” She sniffled and, while still using one hand to prop herself over Toshiro’s unmoving body, used the other hand to try and wipe away the tears that wouldn’t stop rolling down her cheeks.

“He promised me… He promised me that if I did what he said, he wouldn’t hurt them!” She cried.

Unohana didn’t respond to that. She was more concerned with trying to get Toshiro and Momo the care that they needed to survive. “I’ll take good care of them both, but I have to act now.” She was trying to move this along as fast as she could.

Akari gave a few rapid nods and allowed Unohana to work. She trusted the captain, she was one of the few that she trusted completely.

Toshiro and Momo were in the best possible hands for their lives to be saved.

They would be okay…

They would live…

Right?

Akari was trying to convince herself that they were and as she did, anguish turned to rage.

She let this happen. She let him hurt them. She let him lie to her.

But she wasn’t going to let him get away.

She flash stepped away, the fastest flash step that she could manage. She paid no mind to the lieutenant and captain who were working hard and she unknowingly passed a stitched up young man who was headed for the exact spot that she had just left.

Kuro stopped at the door, he could see the two soul reapers and some sort of beast, but it didn’t seem to be attacking him.

Broken, melting ice filled the room that they stood in and he could recognize it. It was the same kind of ice he’d seen come from his brother’s zanpakutou.

“What… What happened?” He stuttered.

Unohana glanced at Kuro, her eyes taking in the deathly pale skin, scars, and stitches. At this point, people who were supposed to be dead making an appearance didn’t actually bother her much. This was the third time she’d seen it, and all in one day.

She didn’t have time to worry about that right now. “Help me get them taken care of, we’ll discuss everything that happened and your condition afterward.” She ordered.

Kuro nodded and eagerly went to help, only pausing when the memories entering his mind became too much for him to handle. He tried to hold it back the best he could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Akari didn’t take long to catch up to Aizen. Her sword was already drawn and gripped tightly in her hands as she came up behind him and Gin.

“You lied to me!” She snarled.

Aizen sighed and waved for Gin to move on. The squad 3 captain did so without complaint.

“Surely you realized I didn’t intend to keep my end of our deal once I had Kuro killed,” Aizen spoke coldly. “I was planning to kill them the entire time, you simply chose to overlook the warnings you were given.” He smirked a bit. “If you had been brave and chosen to face me before, then you wouldn’t have had to see them like that.” He teased.

“Why face me now?” He asked.

Akari sneered. “I might as well, I have nothing left to lose.” She growled. The ground beneath her feet began to char as her spiritual pressure released.

“If you say so.” Was how Aizen responded to her.

That was all Akari needed. “Ethne, burn!” She called out to her zanpakutou.

Black smoke began engulfing the blade as it spewed from it and it eventually engulfed her as well. It completely hid her form.

Aizen wasn’t fazed at all. He’d seen her do this before. He lifted an arm just in time and a blade that glowed a bright red with heat collided with his wrist. Even though it radiated with immense heat, it didn’t affect Aizen in the least.

“I now see how alike you and your son really are. You attacked in a blind rage, just as he did after finding poor Momo in the condition that she was in.” He teased.

Akari snarled and jumped back to prepare another attack. This time she swung her blade, fire spouted from the tip, and flew towards Aizen.

He dodged it and appeared behind her. When she went to attack as a reaction he drew his blade and created a slice from her right shoulder to her left hip.

She stumbled back, hardly registering the fact that it had happened. She didn’t feel the pain as pain, it simply turned into fuel for her rage. She let out a roar of pure rage and threw fire at Aizen again. This time she moved once the fire left her blade in an attempt to attack Aizen that way.

She didn’t land a hit.

“Toshiro was a captain and never landed a scratch on me. You never made a ranked seat or achieved bankai. You think that you have a better chance than him?” Aizen taunted, he was having fun with this.

Akari wanted desperately to hurt this man, to take her pain out on him.

But she understood the power difference.

That didn’t stop her from trying again.

Aizen sight, now getting tired of this repetitive fight. He didn’t dodge her attack this time. Instead, he grabbed the blade of her zanpakutou and shattered it.

The shikai form was canceled out and all the glowing shards turned back to their original steel color. Maybe an inch and a half of the blade remained attached to the hilt.

“You’re never going to be able to harm me,” Aizen said.

Akari’s wild eyes stared directly at him. He was right. There was one option left for her if she wanted to keep fighting.

But, if she continued fighting, then it would mean her death.

Oddly, she didn’t care about that.

She didn’t care if she died here.

There was no reason for her to keep living. There was nothing she could do after this whole affair.

She was sure that they would execute her for what she did if she was arrested. Death was all that was left for her.

And she would rather die fighting than be executed.

She gripped her sword’s hilt even more tightly than before. The deep red fabric biting into her hands due to the pressure.

Yes, she was content with dying, but not before leaving even just one scratch on the man who had ruined her life.

The adrenaline that kept her from acknowledging the pain of her wound began to wear off and she now had no choice but to feel the pain. She became aware of her clothing sticking to her from the blood that had been soaked up.

The wound wasn’t overly deep, but if it continued to bleed then not only would she weaken, blood loss would cause her death.

Akari looked at what remained of Ethne and clenched her jaw. Instead of holding the blade like the katana it had once been, she shifted to holding it like a dagger.

This was it.

With a wordless scream, she charged one more time at Aizen, the blade aimed for where his heart was.

The broken end of the blade hit the clothing that covered Aizen’s chest but it didn’t so much as go through the clothing. There was no way that it would have been able to cut through anything with that part.

But Akari, the poor woman, had been impaled on his zanpakutou.

Her head hung low, tears falling again.

Aizen chuckled. “I’m getting a sense of deja vu.” He said. “This isn’t unlike how I impaled dear, sweet Momo.”

Akari dropped her blade, the clatter of it hitting the ground roaring in her ears. Her head fell so that her forehead rested against Aizen’s chest and her eyes stared blankly at where the sword had entered her gut.

“I thought you understood that you were no match for me… Though, I shouldn’t be surprised.” Aizen’s free hand smoothed down some of her hair in false affection.

“I’m… not done… yet…” Akari spoke. She now lifted her head so that her eyes met his. The fiery hatred that she held in them almost seemed to make them glow.

Her one last trick.

“I wasn’t trying to stab you… I’m not so stupid to think that it would work…” Her skin began to heat up and both of her hands gripped Aizen’s single hand that held his zanpakutou.

All at once, she released every bit of spiritual pressure that remained within her body. Her hands clawed at Aizen’s in order to keep it in place as he tried to rip the blade away as the release caused an explosion.

A large ball of flames engulfed the area around Akari and Aizen. Any flammable structure caught fire as her spiritual pressure touched it.

When the fireball receded, only Akari was in the center. The stab wound from where Aizen had impaled her now had an exit on her right side where he had messily ripped it out of her flesh. Her fingers, which had so desperately clung to his in order to keep him in place, were broken.

With no more spiritual pressure remaining, and as injured as she was, this was it. She could do no more. Akari collapsed onto the charred and ash-covered ground.

_I couldn’t do anything…_

She had already accepted that she would die fighting Aizen, and now she was ready for it.

_“I’m sorry…”_

Her eyes closed.

Aizen stared down at the woman from the edge of a building that was just beginning to burn and glared.

His fingers grabbed a tuft of hair from his bangs and he examined the singed ends.

“You did all of that, only to singe my hair.” He huffed and left her where she was.

He had more important places to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a scene that is probably the most thought through part of this story that I've got so far. It has been in the works from the second I designed Akari. My poor girl, I am very mean to her.


	57. The Healing Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Aizen's betrayal, you get a glimpse at what Hana and Angel do to help. Where did Kuro end up? Did Akari Survive?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is one I consider kind of a filler, but I also think it has a few important mentions.

Hana ran in the direction of the fireball she had seen. Buildings were burning in every direction that she could see once she entered the area.

“Hello, is anyone here?” She called out.

No one answered her, so she continued looking.

It didn’t take long to find someone. A familiar woman laid unconscious in what seemed to be the center of where the fireball was.

“Akari!” Hana gasped and ran over to her, falling to her knees to check the woman over.

She was breathing, but it was shallow and she wouldn’t respond when Hana tried to talk to her. Hana checked over the woman’s injuries and flinched. The one in her side would be especially hard to heal. It wasn’t a clean-edged injury like the one from her shoulder to her hip.

She had to get Akari somewhere where she would be taken care of. But dragging her was not a good idea. It would simply hurt the woman more.

Would anyone come if Hana called for help? No one else seemed to be coming to check on the destruction as she had.

“Hello! I need some help, please! There’s an injured person over here!” She tried calling out.

No one came, but she couldn’t just leave Akari. So she stayed by her side, occasionally calling out to see if anyone would come to help. She did her best to try and stop Akari’s bleeding by using what she’d learned from occasionally helping out in her father’s clinic.

Eventually, things everywhere around the Seireitei seemed to quiet down and she could hear people running by. So, she called out again.

One person ran over to check on her. Hana stood quickly and bowed to him. “I found her like this, she needs help!” She insisted.

The soul reaper called over others and helped get Akari onto a stretcher.

“Will she be okay?” Hana asked, she was understandably worried.

The soul reaper looked a little unsure. “We won’t know until we get a better look at her condition.” He explained.

Hana nodded solemnly. She supposed she should have been expecting a response like that.

“Are you one of the ryouka?” The same soul reaper asked.

“I am.” She answered truthfully. The transmission that she’d received earlier painted them as allies, so she shouldn’t be in any danger.

“There are many injured and we could use help tending to them. Would you be able to help?” He asked.

Hana nodded. “I’ll do my best.” She answered.

Hana and the other soul reaper separated from the group that was carrying Akari to the infirmary. The group of two made their way to where the execution was supposed to have taken place.

When they arrived, there were many others running back and forth caring for injured soul reapers or getting the stable ones to the infirmary.

Hana wasn’t sure what she could do to help here.

“Hana!” Angel ran over and hugged her. She’d gotten worried when it was finally mentioned that Hana stayed behind somewhere under the impression that she would be a burden.

“Angel, are you alright? Is everyone alright?” Hana asked.

“Ichigo got hurt but Orihime is taking care of him,” Angel answered.

The two were unaware that they were being watched. Every now and again people would look over at Angel. No one had mentioned anything to her yet.

The girls helped however they could, it usually included running supplies from person to person. It was their way of trying to make up for not being able to fight.

Once everyone had been moved or released to go back and rest, Captain Unohana approached the girls.

“Angel, do you mind if I check on you?” The woman asked.

Hana and Angel looked at each other. “That would be fine,” Angel said.

Hana cleared her throat. “Pardon me, miss. I’m not against you giving Angel a checkup, but you look exhausted. I don’t want you to overwork yourself.” She said kindly.

Unohana looked at the orange-haired girl and smiled softly. “Thank you for your concern, but I assure you that I’m fine.”

“Alright… If you’re sure.” Hana said.

Unohana nodded and everyone was escorted to squad 4. While the captain was checking on Angel, Hana was again running supplies to anyone who may need them.

Hana had offered her services to the healers, and they seemed grateful for it.

Unohana was giving Angel a thorough checkup and asking several questions about her memories.

Angel answered as honestly as she could.

Unohana hummed in thought as she worked. For a while after that, she was silent as her hands hovered around Angel’s head.

There was a seal on her memories, one that couldn’t be removed. Well, it could, but the onslaught of memories would likely prove too much for anyone experiencing it. The seal seemed to be weakening enough to allow the girl to remember some of her previous life. So, the seal would likely degrade over time and she would remember everything.

Angel looked up at the exhausted captain after having all of this explained to her. “How long do you think it will take to get all of my memories back?” She asked.

“There’s no telling how long it will take, I’m afraid.” She answered.

Angel nodded in understanding. “Thank you, Captain Unohana.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kuro hadn’t been allowed to leave the infirmary since he’d helped bring Momo and Toshiro in for treatment. Because of that, he was moving between checking on Toshiro and checking on Momo.

It was in one of these passing periods between the two that he saw them bringing a familiar woman in on a stretcher.

He immediately knew her name.

“Akari!” He rushed over to try and get closer but a few members of squad 4 stopped him by grabbing his arms. “What happened to her?!” He asked.

“No one knows what happened, she was found like this and there was no one else around.” One of the soul reapers answered.

Kuro didn’t fight against the hold of those keeping him back and because of that, they let go of him. He wanted to go see Akari, but they wouldn’t allow him to yet. Which he understood, she was obviously injured. So, while he waited for someone to give her information on his condition, he continued to switch between checking on the two soul reapers that he’d grown up with.

Almost all of the little family were in the same place, but they weren’t in good shape.

Kuro sat beside Momo’s bed and sighed heavily. He comes back finally, and he hardly able to help. He didn’t know what to do.

Eventually, he got news on Akari. She was stable but still unconscious and had severely depleted spiritual pressure. She was unlikely to wake up any time soon due to a combination of factors.

They even mentioned that they’d found that she’d undergone poorly done medical operations in the past. They mentioned an awful scar across her abdomen which made Kuro remember how she’d looked the day he’d been transformed into a hollow.

He went to see her, he felt like he had to.

She was still and her eyes looked sunken despite the fact that they were closed.

He didn’t have to have been there to get an idea of what had happened to her. She’d turned on Aizen and fought him.

It was lucky that she was still alive. Aizen could have easily chosen to kill her, but he didn’t. He instead chose to mess with her.

But was that really lucky? How much had it really affected her?

Kuro held her hand just as he had Momo’s. “I’m sorry, Mom… I tried to warn them… But in the end, I couldn’t help…” He mumbled.

She didn’t respond, not that he’d expected her to.

He couldn’t be there for them at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toshiro was the first of the three unconscious family members to wake up. All of the emotions that he’d felt just before losing consciousness were still present, if not stronger.

Guilt overwhelmed him the most out of all of them. He felt like he could have prevented everything, somehow.

He examined his bandages and gave himself a small test of the range of motion that he currently had with his arm. It hurt, of course, but it was mostly healed thanks to the work of those in squad 4.

Unohana stopped in to check on him and to have a talk. There was no way that the white-haired captain wouldn’t run into two of his old friends. He’d have to be warned about Kuro and Angel before he left his bed.

The news about Akari and her condition could be brought up once he had dealt with and process the situation with Angel and Kuro.

“You’re injury is healing nicely,” Unohana spoke.

Toshiro nodded his head quietly. He was still processing his own emotions.

The older captain noticed this behavior and gave him a few more minutes of silence to think before speaking up. “There are a few things that we need to discuss.” She said.

Toshiro’s thoughts immediately went to Momo, wondering about her condition. That’s surely what Unohana meant. “Is Momo alright?” He asked.

Unohana nodded. “Yes, she’s stable. She simply hasn’t woken up yet. But, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” She answered him. “There are two people I wanted to give you a heads-up about before you ran into them.”

“Give me a heads-up?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes, first is Kuro,” Unohana said, her eyes watching over Toshiro’s reaction to bringing up the other boy.

“Kuro’s dead..?” Toshiro mumbled in confusion.

“Yes, he was. Apparently Captain Kurotsuchi took it upon himself to reanimate him.” Unohana’s calm eyes met Toshiro’s wide eyes.

“So… You’re saying that Kuro is alive?” He asked.

“Yes, though he’s a bit different than you would remember appearance-wise. There’s not enough difference that you wouldn’t be able to recognize him, but it’s still different. I thought it warranted a warning.” Unohana answered. “He has been spending his time watching over you and Momo.”

Toshiro was still staring at her. “I-I see…” He couldn’t deny the anger he felt at finding out that Kurotsuchi had experimented on his brother. But, he also felt relieved at the idea that he was alive.

“And the other person?” He finally asked.

“Angel is here. She and one of the other ryouka have been helping out in the infirmary daily.” Unohana answered again. Her reasoning for telling him was that in leaving the infirmary Toshiro was likely to spot her.

Toshiro thought back to Kyoraku telling him that Angel was among the intruders. “And it’s really her? It’s really Angel?” He questioned.

She nodded. “It is, I examined her myself. There is one thing, she has very few memories from her time here in the soul society.” She warned him.

Toshiro went quiet. So, Angel was really back, she just didn’t remember any of them?

Would she remember him?

There was only one way to find out.

“Am I free to leave?” Toshiro asked.

“Yes, you’re healed enough to go. You will still need to return within the next week for another healing session but you should otherwise be fine.” Unohana said with a smile.

With everything settled, she left the room, and Toshiro got changed. He took it slow as to not cause his injury to act up.

He was a little sore but he had a lot on his mind.

Should he search for Kuro first?

Or, should he find Angel?

He could potentially run into either of them just by leaving his room from the sounds of it.

Would he really get to see them again?

Had they really come back?

**Author's Note:**

> This prologue was originally typed three years ago and my writing style has changed a bit since then. Please keep that in mind as I continue to post the chapters that I have already written.
> 
> Thank you for reading Entwined Lives, I hope that you enjoy it.


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